A neighbor and West Philly Local reader, Brendan, emailed us that his apartment on the 4400 block of Baltimore Ave was broken into and robbed last week, on Thursday, Sept.  27. Brendan says that the burglar(s) got away with his wife’s new Schwinn Sporterra (2012) bike. It’s a size 52 black bike with white writing on it. They also got off with an old Playstation 2.

Brendan says that he and his wife are not very well off people by any stretch and that their apartment is mostly full of things of sentimental value. “The bike is what really broke my heart…because I just bought it for my wife this past summer after saving up and sacrificing a lot to give my wife a new bike… We’ve lived in this apartment for 7 years and have never felt insecure. We love this neighborhood and can not stand the idea that we were so brazenly violated like this in a community that we love so much,” Brendan writes.

Police suspect that juveniles might have been involved in this robbery based on what they stole and some other details.

This incident taught Brendan a couple of things about how to protect yourself in case your apartment gets burglarized – to get renter’s insurance and to write down your bike’s serial number.

Just last week we published a story about a community activist being attacked by two robbers on bikes in the Cedar Park area and now we want to alert neighbors about a similar incident on Monday. A reader who asked not to be identified reported an attempted robbery that took place Monday night, at 9:10 p.m., at 50^th and Warrington:

“I was walking home alone from the trolley when a young man, who had ridden past me twice already on his bike, rode past again when I turned a corner that was more isolated, and accelerated on his bike, and grabbed my purse as he went by my left side. He did not get it and eventually let go, and kept riding.”

The reader, a female, filed a police report immediately after the incident. She believes that the suspect was scoping the 34 trolley for victims like herself.

A 24-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint last night near 47th and Larchwood, according to police. At approximately 11 p.m., the man was standing in front of his apartment, pulling his keys out of the door, when he heard someone behind him say “Yo”. The victim thought it was his friend, but when he turned around he saw an unknown male pointing a gun at him. The victim handed the robber his backpack, $40.00 dollars and his iPhone. The phone was secured with a password which the robber asked for as well.

We are also trying to confirm with police an abandoned firearm report that we received from a reader. Apparently, someone reported a man with a gun on the 4300 block of Spruce last night and around 1 a.m. a few police cars showed up. They caught the suspect, but couldn’t find the gun that the suspect apparently disposed of somewhere on that block. The reader says that the policemen left after 20 minutes of searching the area.

Officers from the 18th Police District will be visiting homes and businesses in the district tonight to share information about crime prevention.

According to the PhillyPolice Blog, officers will particularly focus on the area from Baltimore Avenue to Cedar Avenue, 57th Street to 62nd Street.

The tools they will talk about include Operation Safe I.D., which was put in place to help prevent burglaries and thefts and the department’s SafeCam project, which allows residents and businesses to register security cameras with the police department.

Longtime resident Fran Byers (center) during the re-opening of Clark Park last year.

A piece of advice for would-be purse snatchers: Don’t mess with the lady who organizes the meet-and-greets with the police.

Plain-clothes officers nabbed two teenage purse snatchers on bikes after they grabbed a shoulder bag from longtime resident Fran Byers near 48th and Baltimore at about 2 p.m. on Monday. That’s the same Fran Byers who organizes the monthly community meeting with officers from the University City Division of the 18th Police District. In fact, she was passing out flyers for the meeting when it happened. The teenagers rammed Fran from behind then grabbed her bag, pulling it so violently that her shoulder was dislocated, according to friends.

Fran won’t be at tonight’s meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at the usual spot in the basement of the Calvary Center for Culture and Community (801 S. 48th St.) The meetings provide an opportunity for residents to share information and concerns with police about crime and neighborhood issues.

An armed suspect was arrested after police chased him for several blocks on Saturday night. The man was pulled over at approximately 7:30 p.m. for an illegal lane change and fled on foot, police said. Here are some details submitted by a neighbor who lives nearby (confirmed by police).

Dozens of police officers surrounded the block of Farragut St (between 46th & 47th Streets). …They chased, tackled, and arrested an armed suspect who was on foot and attempted to get away through the back alley of several of the buildings closer to Locust St. One couple said that they saw the suspect at their back window before he was tackled. …The police were still searching for the weapon after the arrest and about 20 minutes later, a fire truck assisted the Philadelphia Police Department to search on the roof of several buildings close to where the arrest was made.

During the foot pursuit the suspect was holding a black semi-automatic handgun, according to police. The gun has not yet been recovered.