2 Temple University students attacked and robbed hours before move-in day

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Temple University police are investigating a series of crimes in which students were attacked or robbed in Philadelphia.

They all happened Monday night, hours before first-year students arrived for the new semester.

"Temple is so fortunate to be in such an interesting, fun and thriving city, but you have to be mindful of your surroundings too," said Jennifer Griffin, Temple's police chief and VP of the Department of Public Safety.

The first assault and robbery attempt of a student happened just outside of campus at the intersection of 11th Street and Montgomery Avenue around 10:20 p.m.

There was another attack at the Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue subway station 20 minutes later.

Police say three juveniles attacked a student and stole his backpack.

Temple and Philadelphia police worked together to take the trio into custody before responding to reports of a shooting in the 2000 block of North 18th Street.

University leaders are asking students to remain alert as they continue to work to combat crime in the area.

"Majority of our students will never have an issue the entire time they are here," said Chief Griffin. "We have 24-hour walking escorts. We have a flight service with over 51 stops within patrol zone. We have a safety app."

University police have also come up with several precautions, including the use of license plate reading camera technology, expanding its investigations unit and major upgrades to the campus dispatch system.

"One of those advancements we've made is license plate readers; several are located throughout campus. Within just weeks of installing it, we made an apprehension of an individual in a stolen vehicle. We were able to return that vehicle to the owner," said Chief Griffin.

Griffin adds that despite these latest incidents, the university is also reporting a significant drop in crime compared to last year.

Data from January-July 2023 to January-July 2024 shows aggravated assaults decreased by 8% and auto thefts decreased by 34% within the university's patrol zone.

"It's a little bit of a change. You have to always have your head on a swivel," said Temple senior Amber Cirelli.

As students return to class for the fall semester, they say they'll remain cautious.

"Just keeping your head up, can't be walking around on my phone, headphones in," said Jack Metz, a Temple freshman.

"Make sure your things are secure so if you need to move fast, you can move fast," said Kaylah Morris.