The shattered glass on the front door testifies to the shootout near 12th and Dauphin early Monday morning.
21-year-old Rob Eells, a Temple University junior from Doylestown, fought back during a holdup attempt. His girlfriend, who doesn't want to be identified, says Rob and his roommate were having a smoke on the front stoop around 1:45 this morning.
"Three kids approached them, pulled a gun on them and demanded their money," she told Action News.
She says when they refused, one of the kids pulled a gun and started shooting. Rob was hit in the stomach.
But Rob, who has a permit to carry, pulled his own gun and shot back, hitting the 15-year-old boy in the back and leg. Three other suspects fled north on 12th Street. Both Rob and the 15-year-old are now hospitalized in stable condition.
"Rob came bursting through the door, screaming up the stairs at me to dial 911, he'd been shot. He comes up the stairs and kind of collapsed right in the doorway," said Rob's girlfriend.
Temple students have been increasingly drawn to inexpensive off-campus housing in the surrounding community which has a high crime rate. The university police sent out an alert after this morning's shooting a few blocks away.
On campus, blue emergency call boxes are everywhere. But off campus, students are on their own, where their best defense is some common sense advice.
"They advise us just to stay in packs. And if it's after dark, walk with people and be smart about it, don't go wandering around by yourself," said Temple sophomore Austin Gullo.
Rob Eells is out of surgery and is expected to recover fully. The teenage gunman will also recover, but he's under arrest and headed for a jail cell instead of a classroom.
