Philadelphia police investigating 2nd home invasion involving Temple students
"We were all just woken up. There was a guy with a gun. He came into a couple of our rooms," recalled one Temple student.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police are investigating two separate home invasion cases involving Temple University students this week.
One incident happened Friday morning around 7 a.m. at an apartment building on the 1300 block of North 15th Street near Master Street.
Police say there were 11 students inside at the time of the robbery. Six female residents, three of their boyfriends and two female friends were sleeping over.
They said they were woken up by a knock at the door.
SEE ALSO: Temple University students robbed in off-campus apartment armed home invasion
Out front were the two masked suspects. Philadelphia Police Captain Michael Goodson said at least one had a gun.
One of the roommates let the two men in the apartment thinking they were young men who probably knew someone inside, the students told Action News.
"We were all just woken up. There was a guy with a gun. He came into a couple of our rooms. He made one of us go and wake up the rest of the roommates with the guy with the gun," one student said.
The suspects kept asking the students, "Where are the drugs? Where are the drugs?"
The suspects were apparently told this was a home they would be able to find drugs and money. But that was not the case.
The armed robbers proceeded to lock all 11 students in the basement.
All the victims were unharmed but shaken as they were forced to hand over their cell phones, debit cards along with their PIN numbers and car keys.
Police say the pair stole a 2015 Lincoln MKZ sedan with a Pennsylvania license KMF1560.
A similar incident happened on Wednesday.
Kayla Barone, a sophomore at Temple University, says she was sleeping early Wednesday morning when three intruders in masks broke into her home near 18th Street.
"I hear all this rummaging upstairs in the kitchen. It sounded like multiple people, so my heart started like beating. I was shaking in bed. I didn't know what to do," said Barone.
She says she tried to call and warn her two other roommates, but they were asleep.
Next, she called 911. By then the masked men had made their way downstairs.
At gunpoint, they locked her two other roommates in one room and forced Barone to hand over her cash, cards, cellphone and other valuables.
They left abruptly once they unlocked her phone and realized Barone already called 911.
"He dropped my bags that was in his hands and my phone, like we gotta go. They caught us, run, run, run. All three of them ran out," recalled Barone.
Police are calling this an active investigation and looking into whether both cases are connected.
As students grapple with this latest incident, Friday evening campus police were busy responding to a shooting that left a man injured near the campus grounds at 11th and Jefferson.
In a statement released by the university, they say the latest home invasion happened outside of the university's patrol zone. They are also reminding students of protective measures they can take to stay safe.
For the students this week directly affected, the university will provide on-campus housing, counseling, and other trauma-informed resources.
Detectives are actively investigating both cases.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS.
