UPDATE (8/3/2015): A man and a woman were robbed with the use of weapons and physically assaulted on Sunday morning at bus stops in the area.
A 46-year-old woman sustained cuts to her arm and was robbed at around 9:10 a.m. at 48th and Larchwood, according to police. The woman was waiting for a SEPTA bus when she felt a pull on her purse across her shoulder. When she turned around she saw an unknown female with a yellow box cutter in her hands. She swung at the woman and cut her under her left arm, according to a police report. While pulling on the purse she made her way into the passenger side of a black sedan, which police believe was a rental car. The victim also got into the vehicle continuing struggling over her purse. The vehicle pulled away, and the victim was dragged several feet before she was pushed out, according to police. The car fled northbound on S. 51st Street toward Spruce and was lost.
The first suspect is described as a black female, 25-35 years old, 5’5″, 170-180 lbs, wearing a blue or green shirt, jeans and a purple/white scarf. The scarf was recovered on the scene. The vehicle, a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta, an Enterprise rental car, was operated by a heavily built black male, 35-40 years old, according to a police report. Both suspects were still at large as of Monday, Aug. 3, 10 a.m.
A 41-year-old man was waiting for the 42 bus at 50th and Spruce when he was approached by a group of five young males, punched, pistol-whipped and robbed, according to police. The incident happened at around 1 a.m. Two of the males were on small, BMX bikes and the other three were on foot, according to a police report. Two of the males attempted to take the man’s backpack, but he started struggling with them. After that the men started punching him in the back of the head with fists, according to police. Another male, wearing a white T-shirt and brown cargo shorts, pointed a silver handgun at the victim and demanded his phone. Then, police say, he struck the man on the back of his head with the butt of the gun. When the man dropped his backpack four of the attackers fled with it toward Market St. The male with the gun chased the victim when he started running away. The victim was able to get to his apartment a block away. The victim sustained a large lump to his head in the attack. His backpack contained a camcorder, a tablet, an iPod and a hearing aid among other things, according to police.
Related Post: Uptick in robberies reported by police, residents
August 2nd, 2015 at 9:07 pm
Anyone else have a run in with a gang of young teens on bikes? I was crossing 76 today on university ave on my bicycle, and a group of young teens demanded I give them my helmet and that we could settle this “the hard way” or the easy way. I didn’t give it up because we were on a busy road, and I figured that they couldn’t do much. The oldest replied, “I guess you want the hard way” and they started riding toward me. To my surprise they passed me and one of the younger ones said “We were just messing with you!” I had taken off the helmet and was going to give it up at this point…weird prank, right? There were 5-6 of them on bikes, and they were riding along university Ave in the bike lane going the wrong way…hopefully they don’t mess with anyone else!
August 2nd, 2015 at 10:28 pm
I would really like to know what actions local law enforcement is taking at preventing these teen robberies and assaults in the area. I have lived here for several years and don’t recall the packs of teens being so big a threat! And especially when the attacks are so brazen and in broad daylight at bus stops. Some of the assaults sound like they are just for the hell of it–not even as part of resisting a robbery. Are patrols being stepped up in the area?
August 3rd, 2015 at 1:08 am
I was there is morning at 48th and larchwood. It was a male driving and a female in the passenger seat who got out of the car and attacked the woman at the bus stop.
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:34 am
I wonder if Enterprise can see who in Philadelphia had rented a 2014 Jetta during this time, and cross check the descriptions. I know there is a Jetta for Enterprise Car Share at 45th and Chestnut.
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:48 am
Last time I rented a car from the Enterprise by the Sheraton at 36th and Chestnut Streets, when I went in to pick it up it looked as though the guy who dropped my car off was just cruising the streets in it using it as his personal ride until the employee at the counter told him he needed to bring it back for a paying customer. After waiting over 10 minutes for the car to arrive, when I finally got in the car the guy who was using it said “oh, wait a minute” and grabbed his Big Gulp soda out of the center cup holder and a bag of sunflower seeds out of the glove compartment.
Unfortunately, I think this setup happens at a lot of the car rental places where employees let their friends just use the cars at their leisure until someone with a reservation comes in to pick it up.
My point is, it might be hard to track down the driver of the Jetta if it was just friend “borrowing” it, but then again, with a little diligence and investigating by the police, it might be rather easy to narrow it down.
August 3rd, 2015 at 1:45 pm
I think it’s high time we start a neighborhood patrol as it seems the University City District and City of Philadelphia police patrols are non-existent.
August 3rd, 2015 at 2:41 pm
Strongforu, I’m down. Let’s do it.
August 3rd, 2015 at 3:42 pm
YES on the neighborhood patrol! I used to live in Baltimore (Mt. Vernon) and we did the same thing. My family is moving to the epicenter of this crime spree in less than a month and will definitely join any initiatives started by our (future) neighbors.
August 3rd, 2015 at 5:42 pm
Dear vigilantes,
Please do not start a neighborhood watch. If you’re convinced by highly tendentious evidence (e.g., “I see the UC Patrol guys being lazy all the time!– and this observation has nothing whatsoever do with racial stereotypes because I didn’t mention race . . .”) and convince yourselves that you are just dealing with “facts” instead of the hauntings of racist biases, we certainly don’t need your type patrolling the streets. We’ll be much safer without you.
August 3rd, 2015 at 6:53 pm
I though there already was such an organization that had been active for like a decade. Weren’t they called the West of Clark Park Town Watch or something? They may have been active then went default again.
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:08 pm
Relevant points please….like when is the next 18th district meeting?
August 3rd, 2015 at 9:51 pm
Last week (I think it was Saturday, July 25), I saw maybe 5 boys, maybe 2 teenagers and 3 younger boys, bicycling up and down the 4600 block of Hazel Ave (one sitting on another’s handlebars). At one point, they stopped in front of a neighbor’s end-of-row house, and two of the boys went up along side the house to the back. I walked over (on the other side of the street) and glared at them. They saw me watching them. They didn’t seem to take anything, and the neighbor (who wasn’t home at the time) confirmed this. I didn’t report it to the police, because all they did was trespass.
August 3rd, 2015 at 10:48 pm
Margie, that sounds a lot like the group I ran into! :-/
August 4th, 2015 at 9:03 am
Yesterday evening as I was walking into my house near 51st and Larchwood, my neighbor must have forgotten something in his house as he was about to leave on his bicycle. He leaned his bike against the front railing and ran inside his home. When I entered my house I turned around to close my front door and I happened to notice a kid (about 12 years old) on a bike slam on his brakes and come up onto the sidewalk between the parked cars. He jumped off his crappy little BMX bike and grabbed my neighbor’s bike by the handle bar. As I yanked my front door back open to stop him, the neighbor came back outside looking shocked. He yells to the kid, “What are you doing!?” The kid quickly let go of the handlebar and sheepishly responded, “uhhh…. I was just… I was just looking at it. That is a NICE bike.” He jumped back on his BMX and rode away.
This all happened in a span of less than 15 seconds.
We must all always be vigilant, but I don’t think we should go out being vigilantes. The police need to be doing more patrols and the UC Patrollers need to be held accountable. I wonder how they would feel if we start taking pictures of them when they are sitting in pizza shops or standing around 4 or 5 deep with their bikes near 48th and Spruce and posting them online or sending them to their supervisors.
August 4th, 2015 at 10:13 am
Everyone needs to stop with the UCD “cops,” especially Dan S. and his plan to send photos of them to their bosses. They’re aren’t cops, their entire purpose is to be around the neighborhood. The idea is that by them just being around, it has some discouraging effect on crime. The only practical role they are intended to serve is to escort people who call for an escort and, as far as I know, they are doing just fine with that.
August 4th, 2015 at 10:46 am
Jon, I don’t want to put words in the mouths of others, but I imagine the suggestion regarding neighborhood patrols was in reference to something like a town watch, which is a partnership between local community groups and law enforcement. When I was kid 20 or so years ago, we did have a town watch around Clark Park. Fran Byers and other community-minded folks would walk with a local police captain once a month or so. It may not have accomplished much during the walks themselves, but it definitely served to strengthen the bonds between the local police and the community as it served as a sort roving community meeting.
August 4th, 2015 at 12:02 pm
These kids are wild. Individually, I am sure they are okay, but in a group they get all Lord of the Flies. To say that this is a new phenomenon is not necessarily true. I recall summer of 2007, this type of occurrence was just as bad if not worse. Kids / teens jumping people in the middle of the afternoon. I remember thinking twice before stepping out of my home, then, also. We need more programs at the local elementary schools, and reach the kids before they develop an “(eff) the police” outlook from popular culture. How can we reach them and teach them to take pride in their work, respect human life? We need strong members of the local community to mentor the kids. These mentors should be people that the kids can really relate to and strive to emulate.
August 4th, 2015 at 1:31 pm
Dear Jon,
You post is extremely uninformed and condescending.
I hope you read DontJump’s reply as it explains what an NP is.
Stay safe.
August 4th, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Anon, I never called them cops because I understand that is not their role. But please tell me how a group of them sitting in a pizza shop is deterring crime though. They are more than just escorts though, because another “practical role” they serve (actually, there most important role) is being the eyes and ears (like a patrolling neighborhood watch) who are better equipped to assist in the event of a crime and quickly contact police in a more professional manner than a distraught victim or civilian witness could. But like I said, it doesn’t help when the eyes and ears are all gathered in one spot not doing their jobs.
August 4th, 2015 at 3:48 pm
Dan:
How do you know that they aren’t on break? I imagine that they get a lunch/dinner.
August 4th, 2015 at 7:08 pm
What is the description of these “kids” on bikes? White, black, hispanic, etc? It would be nice to know what/who to look out for. So I guess our neighborhood is not safe during the daylight hours either, I thought it was just nighttime that I couldn’t feel safe…
August 4th, 2015 at 7:48 pm
They were African American and thin. Two of them looked to be in their early teens-maybe 14 or 15 and the other 3 looked to be around 10-12
August 4th, 2015 at 8:09 pm
Thanks, we have to keep our guard up. Be aware, don’t have cell phone out, etc. All the things we know but sometimes forget. Be safe everyone. Very sad to have to be afraid of children but this is reality.
August 4th, 2015 at 10:09 pm
Jennifer, yes, this could be the same group I saw.
August 4th, 2015 at 10:54 pm
Alert: be on the lookout for gangs of 10-15 year-old Black kids
August 5th, 2015 at 3:43 am
I know, I wish I had a better description. I wasn’t really studying their faces or what they were wearing or even the bikes they were on because I was so thrown off by the fact that they were so young. Initially I was watching them because they were about to cross that 76 off ramp and the light was out, and I was afraid they’d get hit…I was more than a little surprised when the oldest started threatening me.
To be honest, I think it’s the end of the summer and they were bored. Still pretty awful behavior on their part, but I don’t think they will actually hurt anyone because they didn’t hurt me, despite their threats.
August 5th, 2015 at 9:11 am
I thought Omar’s presence as neighborhood watch was supposed to prevent crime like this from happening??
August 5th, 2015 at 10:08 am
At the risk of drawing ire for what may be seen as ‘victim blaming,’ I would just like to say that while no one should be robbing you, you can try to minimize your risk by being a little more careful with how you use your phone.
Last weekend I saw a young woman walking down the street holding her fancy cell phone out in front of her. She looked to be about 100 lbs., somewhat oblivious to her surroundings (she tripped on the curb, I think b/c she was looking at her phone) at 1 in the morning. My god, even *I* wanted to rob her. It was dead out, she wasn’t paying attention, and I already knew she had a fancy phone.
Of course, as I type this, I think it’s likely that she might’ve been mugged even w/o holding her phone; but perhaps she would’ve seen the people coming and could’ve darted into the CVS or something, since she was right next to it.
August 5th, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Christina, you are so right. I see it all the time, vulnerable females not paying attention to their surroundings,especially after dark. They make themselves such an easy target. It is not victim blaming, just common sense. Be aware, maybe have your phone handy for an emergency just don’t be concentrating on it so much. Get to where you are going first.
August 5th, 2015 at 3:42 pm
Barb, It’s not only females who make themselves vulnerable by looking at their phones instead of paying attention to their surroundings.
August 5th, 2015 at 6:57 pm
Margie, so true. Females and the elderly are just easier targets for these cowardly thugs. Everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings.
August 5th, 2015 at 10:49 pm
Female is an adjective, not a noun
August 6th, 2015 at 7:45 am
Well, so is “elderly,” but adjectives can be nominalized.
August 6th, 2015 at 12:42 pm
Wow, way to get off subject…
Stay safe neighbors!
August 6th, 2015 at 6:15 pm
Actually, Anon, “female” is also a noun (as is “elderly”). Look ’em up, merriam-webster.com.
(Sorry Barb!)
August 7th, 2015 at 10:10 am
Yeah, I guess it can technically be used as a noun, but maybe it shouldn’t be: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tracyclayton/stop-calling-women-females#.nxkgLmKE1
August 7th, 2015 at 9:00 pm
It’s funny that we complain about the UC patrol officers, but never comsider their actual duty. They are UNARMED neighborhood security guards and are suppose to observe and report crime. I spoke with one young man and he was only 20 years old! Some of those UC security look barely old enough to purchase alcohol. Not to mention that they probably are paid 10 bucks and hour. I live at 46th and Osage and witness DAILY security riding behind my drive way, sometimes at 1 & 2 o’clock in the MORNING! I’m sure they are guaranteed breaks and dinners but there are bad seeds at every job. what of you all take PICTURES of an innocent worker on break, mistaken them for slackers. what then? STOP BEING JERKS AND JUST GO UP TO THE GUARD AND TALK TO THEM INSTEAD OF ASSUMING THE WORSE.
I speak in their defense because two UC security guards helped me push my vehicle into a parking space when it died. Didn’t even care to take the money I offered.
GOD Bless those young people
August 10th, 2015 at 10:24 am
Margaret, if we do not hold them accountable, it will be a sad day when a mugging, rape, or worse could have been prevented if these employees had the integrity to do the job they are paid to do, regardless of how much (or how little) they get paid to do it. Like you said, there are bad seeds at every job, and they need to be rooted out so that they stop portraying the good ones in a negative light and so that innocent people don’t become victims while the people being paid to patrol are gathered in a large group hanging out just a few blocks away.
I once helped a young lady push her stalled car out of the driving lane on 44th between Locust and Spruce. I could have kept driving and gone around her like all the other cars, but I chose to stop and help. Was it you that I helped? Because I do not work for the UC Patrol, I am just a caring and concerned resident.
August 10th, 2015 at 3:17 pm
Jeez. Some of these comments are embarrassing. I have a dog, I keep odd hours, I’m on the street a lot walking her, sometimes late at night. I have a lot of encounters with yellow jackets and while every once in a great while I will see them doing something that doesn’t seem like their job that is very rare, in my opinion. What I see 95% percent of the time is young, underpaid men and women walking and biking around, sometimes in freezing temperatures late at night. However, when I see a few of them in a pizza shop I don’t assume they are lazy roustabouts, I assume they are ON BREAK. Why would you not assume that Dan? Further more, if you don’t want to make assumptions you could, I don’t know, talk to them. In general I will have the same few people patrolling my neighborhood for a period of time. I say hi to them, ask their name, sometimes strike up a neighborly conversation, in general they are mostly open to this as community ambassadors. I feel safer knowing my local safety patrol-person. What I don’t do is scorn them behind their back or threaten their jobs for every perceived way they are not protecting my whiny, entitled butt. While incidents like these muggings are scary, and zero crime should be what we strive for, people also need to remember how much less crime there is in this neighborhood than their used to be, in part because we have two police forces and a security force patrolling our streets.
August 10th, 2015 at 10:46 pm
If you feel unsafe move to an area where there is a small population of people. Why constantly complain about things that have been going on for decades . the city of Philadelphia is number 1 for poverty stricted cities out of all the big cities, which means no jobs, no recreation for kids, education system is horrible, which leads for things like this to happend. Stop sitting in front of your computer screens all day complaining and make your voice heard to your government, whom made it like this!!