Children Terrorizing Penn Campus

UNIVERSITY CITY - July 17, 2007 (WPVI) -- The hunt is on for a group of children, some as young as 9 years of age, terrorizing residents, on and around the University of Pennsylvania campus.

Many of the assaults, robberies and harassments have happened in areas near the Penn campus.

The university has issued an alert saying separate groups of kids are behind a series of attacks.

Two boys have been arrested in connection with one of these incidents, but police are still looking for several more groups of roving kids they say are targeting penn students and staff.

We spoke to one student who saw a group of young boys attempt to rob a couple of students last week.

Maya Spitzer, a student at Penn, told Action News, "There were these little boys on bicycles and they came by these people and tried to take their bags."

Spitzer says the group of young boys didn't get the Penn students' bags. Other students are shocked and frustrated that kids so young continue to be so brazen.

Marc Mancinelli told Action News that "it's just more of the same. The same battle we are always fighting. Trying to get the kids into something more productive as opposed to doing something like this."

The most recent battle involves as many as ten incidents around the university's campus in the past few weeks. Police say different groups of boys ranging from 9 to 13 years old have been assaulting robbing or harassing students and staff.

The incidents happened between 4:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. at 33rd and Chestnut streets, the 3700 block of Locust Walk and the 4000 and 4200 blocks of Locust Street. A similar incident was reported near Drexel at 35th and Spring Garden streets.

Officials have stepped up patrols.

Nawal Maaloul says she got an email the other day from Penn officials warning her about the juveniles, but she tells Action News a couple of years ago she was harassed by a group of young boys. "They were young kids out really late so it makes me wonder where parents are in this situation."

Philadelphia police tell Action News they believe the groups of boys are from West Philadelphia. They are asking residents to be aware of their surroundings, walk in groups at night and ask for an escort service if needed.

The University does have security cameras posted around campus. Penn officials are looking through the tapes to see if any of the incidents were caught on tape.

(Copyright 2007 by Action News and 6abc. All Rights Reserved.)

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