Assaults near Penn’s campus filled Saturday night with more than fraternity bids.
Several aggressive incidents, ranging from 40th and Walnut to 42nd and Pine streets, are currently under investigation, according to spokeswoman for the Division of Public Safety Stef Cella.
An eyewitness and College sophomore, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue, said that a Penn student was attacked that night. Around 42nd and Pine Streets, between 10 and 11 p.m, “there was a group of about 30 or 40 late middle-school, early high-school kids walking in the opposite direction,” he said. Without provocation, one of them “sucker-punched” his friend, an Engineering sophomore, in the face.
“The kid screamed ‘black power’ after it happened,” the College student said. Then, “they kept walking, and we kept walking” in opposite directions, he added.
Similar events were reported that evening, though it’s still unclear how or if any of them are connected. Cella declined to comment specifically since the investigations are still active.
Philadelphia Police Department’s 18th District did confirm that a “simple assault” occurred on the 4200 block of Pine Street. The victim, unknown at this time, was “punched and kicked” by a group of 10 juveniles at about 10:15 p.m.
An alert released by the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia to its students at 10:27 p.m. stated that “10 black juveniles assaulted a Drexel student” in the same area. USP is bounded mostly by Chester Avenue, 42nd and 43rd streets and the Schuylkill River. A second USP alert at 10:42 p.m. advised students to “use caution when traveling.”
No DPS e-mails or text alerts were sent out to the Penn community.
Students also reported seeing a small mob on 40th and Walnut streets near Fresh Grocer and McDonald’s.
“I was on my way to Capogiro with my friends … around 10,” said College freshman and Under the Button associate editor Sandra Rubinchik. “There was a huge crowd of high schoolers at Mickey D’s and a bunch of police.”
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