A 41-year old male postgraduate student was assaulted at about 9 a.m. Friday at 38th and Sansom streets, according to the Division of Public Safety.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said the student was walking westbound on Sansom Street with an iPod on when a male individual, who the student did not know, spoke to him. The suspect then lunged at the student and inflicted a puncture wound.
DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella wrote in an e-mail Friday that “the actual object that caused the wound is unknown at this time.”
The student was in “good condition” Friday afternoon but was kept overnight at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for observation, according to Rush.
DPS did not respond to a request Sunday for updates on the weapon used and the victim’s status.
Cella said the victim was “in shock” and originally said he was assaulted outside the Penn Computer Connection, near 36th and Sansom streets. However, after further interviewing and review of closed-circuit camera footage, DPS believes the attack occurred further west at 38th and Sansom streets.
DPS also originally reported the student was in the School of Dental Medicine, but after further review, it was determined that he is a postgraduate student.
Rush said the student did not initially realize he was injured and continued westbound, while the suspect continued eastbound.
Penn and Philadelphia police are “working tirelessly” to find the suspect, who they believe is a black male between the ages of 25 and 40 years old, she said. He is believed to be around 5 feet 9 inches tall and to have been wearing a “dark hat or hoodie.”
Rush emphasized that the student and suspect did not know each other and that there was no argument. She urges students to “be aware of your surroundings” and to use the resources available if they see any behavior that looks “abnormal.”
The Division of Public Safety implemented the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System at 9:50 a.m. to send out 42,326 e-mails and 30,823 text messages informing the community of the attack.
The alert read, “UPENN ALERT. A student was assaulted at 3600 Sansom St by an unknown male. Penn & Phila Police are canvassing the area for the suspect. GO TO WWW.PUBLICSAFETY.UPENN.EDU FOR DETAILS.”
But College freshman Ryan Villanueva pointed out, “assault is a very broad category.”
The decision to send the alert was made because the location of the individual was unknown and the assault was considered a “random act of violence,” Rush explained.
UPennAlert was created in August 2007. The system has been used only once before in December 2008 when two women were sexually assaulted in an apartment at 44th and Spruce streets.
“I walk through there every day,” said Wharton freshman Manisha Taneja, who eats at King’s Court dining hall — close to where the incident was said to have occurred in the alert — three times per week.
The University received criticism last month when no alert was sent after two people were injured in a shooting at the Bridge Cinema de Lux at 4012 Walnut St.
“If they sent out an alert for this, they should have sent one out for the Bridge,” Villanueva said.
Rush explained that the incident Friday “was very different in many ways than the Bridge cinema.”
“Every day the world evolves and gives new information,” she added, which impacts such decisions.
Staff Writer Rachel Au-Yong contributed reporting to this article.
