Early Sunday morning, Engineering sophomore Mari Oishi and two of her friends left a party at the Tau Epsilon Phi house. A few yards away, gunfire erupted.
Scrambling for cover, the three students raced back to the fraternity house at 3805 Walnut St. and discovered Oishi had been shot in the the left thigh, an unintended consequence of what police have termed a failed armed robbery.
Paramedics arrived quickly and transported her to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
She was released later that day.
Half a block away from the site of her injury, near the intersection of 38th and Sansom streets, two men unaffiliated with the University had also been shot. They were still being treated last night at HUP. According to police, they were both in critical but stable condition.
One of the men -- Michael Barrett, 31, of the 4000 block of Ridge Avenue in North Philadelphia -- was found with a loaded .38-caliber handgun. He was arrested and charged with possession of a loaded gun without a permit, police officials said.
The two victims have extensive criminal backgrounds and are awaiting trial on armed robbery charges, ABC 6 Action News reported.
Barrett and two companions were returning to their car -- a 2006 Mercedes-Benz SL500 Roadster -- from a fashion show near the intersection of 38th and Market streets, Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker said.
They were approached by two men, one of whom demanded Barrett's keys and coat.
A struggle ensued, and the other would-be robber fired an undetermined number of shots at Barrett and hit him several times in the stomach, Walker said.
Trying to aid Barrett, the other victim -- Robert Keith, 24, of the 5300 block of North 13th Street -- was shot once in the arm. The third member of the party was not hurt.
According to Walker, the gunman was last seen fleeing west on Sansom Street. He is described as a 5-foot-10-inch man wearing a black hooded jacket. Police are still attempting to find identifying information for the other attacker.
"We believe these victims were targeted by the suspects," Walker said. "It was an isolated area. The suspects saw the make of the victims' car and followed them as a result."
Police have no other leads at this time, but they are checking surveillance tapes and conducting neighborhood interviews to gather more information.
Engineering sophomore Andrew Jennings says he left the fraternity house with Oishi and another student at about 2:45 a.m. Sunday.
They were walking north on 38th Street when they "both heard and saw between four and six gunshots fired," Jennings said.
After quickly checking to see if anyone in their party was injured, the three ran back into the fraternity house. They then realized that Oishi's thigh had been struck.
Jennings said that he immediately called 911 and paramedics arrived within minutes to transport Oishi to HUP.
Yesterday afternoon, Oishi was recovering at her on-campus residence.
"I'm optimistic about my recovery, and thanks to everyone for their support and concern," she said Sunday, declining to comment further.
Despite the shock of the shooting, Jennings said that the incident will not change his daily routine.
After the shooting, "walking outside I was a little scared," he said. "But I can either transfer and leave or go out at night. You've got to just get back on the horse."
The shooting was the second on Penn's campus in the past month. Early on the morning of Dec. 25, William Hurt, 25, of the 3300 block of Ridge Avenue, was shot once and killed inside Philly Diner, located at 3925 Walnut St.
Jonathan Morales, 25, of Upper Darby, Pa., was arrested and charged in that homicide.
Student shot - Engineering sophomore hit by stray bullet while returning home from a party with two friends - Police say shooting occurred during an attempted armed robbery near 38th and Sansom streets at about 2:45 a.m. Sunday - A man police think is the gunman was seen fleeing the scene westward on Sansom Street
