The Division of Public Safety and the Philadelphia Police Department continue to investigate a knife-point robbery that occurred Sunday night.
A Penn student was robbed at around 10:40 p.m. on 42nd and Spruce streets. A UPennAlert was issued to the student body at 11:02 p.m.
No injuries were reported and police did not take anyone into custody. A second alert was sent out at 11:45 p.m. informing the community that the area was all clear.
A knife was recovered at the scene and police are reviewing forensic evidence on the item. DPS is also reviewing camera footage of the area.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said they will continue to work with PPD on the case. “If they see a robbery with a similar method of operation, we’ll see if any of those leads could come back to this case.”
“We had a good run of zero robberies last month,” Rush said. “Our force field is still up.”
Rush added that when an incident occurs on a weekend or late at night, the UPennAlert is only sent to the student body, administrators in college houses, senior administrators and faculty and staff who opt in. At other times, the alert is sent out to all students, faculty and staff who are registered to the alert system.
Rush predicts that out of the student group, there were several hundred who didn’t receive the alert on Sunday because they were not registered to the alert system.
Wharton senior John Russell lives at 42nd and Delancey streets — one block away from the incident. On Sunday evening, he saw flashing lights from his window and then saw DPS’s alert.
He and his housemates were not particularly concerned. “The alert said increased police activity, which isn’t anything unusual that we haven’t gotten before,” he said.
He did find the incident unsettling but is not any more concerned about crime in the area than he was before.
“No one’s immune if you live in West Philly. It comes with the territory.”
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