Two armed robberies reported off Main Campus Thursday were carried out with a “common scheme and approach” by the robbers, police said. While the robberies occurred several hours apart, they were only one block from each other.
One of the alleged victims was a 70-year-old man unaffiliated with the university, who was approached by two men on 17th Street near Dauphin, one of them showing a gun. The men robbed him of $600 cash and fled west on Dauphin, said Charlie Leone, the executive director of Campus Safety Services.
Another man unaffiliated with Temple, age 52, was robbed by two men in the same manner on 17th Street near Susquehanna Avenue. One of the men stole a purple bicycle and rode south on 17th Street, while the other man fled in an unknown direction.
Leone said the two robberies “appeared related.”
Several men fitting the description of the robbers were stopped by Temple Police and Philadelphia Police, but none have been identified as suspects, Leone added.
A TU Alert was issued after the second armed robbery at 1:52 p.m., instructing students and staff to avoid the area near 17th Street and Susquehanna Avenue.
These incidents are completely separate from another string of robberies that took place last week at 11th and 15th streets near Cecil B. Moore Avenue. In those robberies, three men not affiliated with the university reported they had their bags and cellphones stolen by two men in a burgundy BMW, Leone said.
TUPD has a video of the BMW and is checking other cameras in Philadelphia.
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