For at least the second time in as many weeks, Temple University students were robbed at gunpoint inside of their North Philadelphia home, police said.
Shortly before 6 a.m. Monday, Philadelphia police say two males invaded the students’ off-campus home on the 1900 block of North 18th Street.
The pair stole a 2022 black Mitsubishi Cross, a Glock 19 handgun, several iPhones, iPad, Apple watches and a Mac Book Pro, according to police. One of the suspects wore a mask and was armed with an Uzi-style weapon; the other wore all-black clothing with Nike gloves.
A victim told NBC10 he was woken up by someone tapping and pointing a gun at him. The two males made him get his other roommate, who was also asleep at the time, and stay in a bathroom while they stole their belongings.
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The victim said the two seemed as though they'd done it before. He recalled the entire incident taking about 45 minutes.
Police said the suspects were last seen northbound on 18th Street in the stolen Mitsubishi. However, the victim said he was able to track the car and found it abandoned a few blocks away.
"I mean, wherever you move around here it's not like you're going to find a safe place. The same thing can happen," the victim said. "Staying here, going next door, going another block. The possibilities are almost the same."
No one was injured during the home invasion, police said. The victim told NBC10 there were no signs of forced entry, but it wasn't clear how the two got inside.
Police said there hadn't been arrests as of early Monday afternoon.
A week and a half ago, nearly a dozen people, among them Temple University students, were woken up, forced into the basement of an off-campus house and robbed of credit cards, cellphones and a car, Philly police said.
The Nov. 11 home invasion was also committed by two males the 6 a.m. hour – a little less than a mile away on the 1300 block of North 15th Street. No arrests have been made in that case, either.
Detectives said the latest home invasion is "very, very similar" to two others. “They were obviously targeted in the same way as the others. So we’re obviously looking at this to be a pattern or connected to the other cases," Philadelphia Police Department Chief Inspector Frank Vanore said.
The stolen car has a Pennsylvania tag of "LSF-0973." Anyone with information on the vehicle or incident is urged to contact Philadelphia police.
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
