Officials said that two Temple University students were violently attacked and robbed Monday night in separate incidents; now, students are voicing their concerns as the new school year starts.
According to the Temple University Police Association, the first incident occurred at the intersection of 11th and Montgomery; a student had been assaulted and robbed by three juveniles.
The second incident happened at the Broad and Cecil B. Moore subway station, officials said. A student was attacked and had his backpack stolen by three juveniles.
SEPTA Transit Police, Temple University Police Association, and the Philadelphia Police Department worked together to apprehend all three juveniles -- Two 13-year-olds and a 15-year-old -- involved on the 1400 block of Montgomery Ave.
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Officials also note that Temple Police also responded to a shooting scene in the 200 block of N. 18 St. that same night, but no one was found injured from this incident.
"We urge all students and faculty to exercise caution and remain vigilant while on campus. Your safety is our priority," Temple University Police Association said in a social media post.
These incidents come just a day before freshmen move on to campus. With nearly 5,000 new first-year students, this is Temple's largest incoming class in several years.
Temple Police Chief Jennifer Griffin says they could still use more staffing to keep up, but over the summer, they added seven officers, new cameras, and AI to supplement their work.
"So we've made large investments both in monetary and in advancements to our equipment technology," Griffin told NBC10.
"I was warned - my whole family is concerned about my safety, so yeah," said Nalilah Profit, an incoming freshman from Connecticut.
Even though students just moved in, there have been nearly 200 crimes reported at the main campus in the last two months, according to the university’s crime log.
Twelve of those were robberies and in four of those incidents, someone was assaulted. The most common crimes reported include harassment, criminal mischief, and theft.
"These incidents are very unfortunate and they do garner a lot of attention, but the majority of our kids come and go to class, they live in our community and have a wonderful experience," Griffin added.
Temple's upcoming president, John Fry, has said he will prioritize these concerns once he gets into office.
NBC10 was told that more information about Temple's student safety plan will be released in the upcoming weeks.
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