Police say three home invasions involving students in Temple University neighborhood could be related

» Update: Police say they have a man in custody in the home invasions

Philadelphia police are investigating the possibility that three home invasions near Temple University over the last two weeks were committed by the same suspects, authorities said Tuesday.

In all three, the suspects brandished guns, and Temple students were among the victims, though no one was injured, police said. Jennifer Griffin, Temple’s vice president of public safety, said concerned parents have been reaching out, some even asking the university to move classes online.

She said the 33,600-student university has increased patrols in the area, sent out safety tips to students and parents, and is working with the city Police Department on the crimes, two of which occurred on the same block.

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“Three home invasions within a two-week period is concerning for us,” Griffin said. “We are doing everything proactively and collaboratively to bring this case to a successful resolution with arrests.”

The home invasions come amid rising concern among students and faculty about crime near the North Philadelphia campus. Almost a year ago, Temple student Samuel Collington was killed in an apparent carjacking outside his off-campus residence. In October alone, Temple issued 10 alerts for shots fired, shootings, and armed robberies near campus.

The university last Friday put out a Temple task force report on violence prevention, recommending development of an advisory board, better communication with the campus community, increased security cameras and walking escorts, and other measures.

Though students are on Thanksgiving break this week, some are still on campus or in the area, along with staff and some faculty, Griffin said.

Philadelphia police said there have been 230 home invasions reported citywide over the last six months. Among the three around Temple in recent weeks, city police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said detectives have noticed enough similarities that “there’s a possibility they are linked.” The suspects, he said, “are acting in the same way” during the crimes.

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All three robberies occurred at rental properties near Temple and early in the morning, before residents awakened, Vanore said, and the robbers were heavily masked while stealing electronics, money or credit cards, and, in two instances, cars, from residents.

In at least two of the crimes, the suspects sought to gather and hold all of the residents in the same area — in one instance forcing 11 people into a basement.

The first incident happened around 4:40 a.m. on Nov. 9, police said, when three men broke in through the back of a house on the 1900 block of N. 18th Street, where three 19-year-old women, all Temple students, were inside. Two of the men who broke in had guns, police said, and they stole a backpack, laptop, IDs, and car keys.

Two days later, on Nov. 11 around 6 a.m., two men were let into a property on the 1300 block of N. 15th Street, where 11 people — all Temple students — were inside, some of them sleeping, authorities said. The suspects, holding guns, told the people inside to go to the basement, police said, then stole debit and credit cards, cash, cell phones, and the keys to a 2015 Lincoln MKZ, which they drove away.

Then, on Monday at 6:18 a.m., authorities said, two men broke into another residence on the 1900 block of N. 18th Street — the same block as the robbery two weeks earlier. In Monday’s crime, police said, the men — one of whom carried a gun — stole items including iPhones and other electronics, a handgun, and the keys to a 2022 Mitsubishi, which they drove away. One of the four victims in that case was a Temple student, a Temple spokesperson said.

Vanore said police had recovered the cars that were stolen in both robberies, and detectives were processing the cars for evidence. Police released video of the suspects from the robbery of 11 people, and Vanore said investigators were continuing to seek additional surveillance footage and other evidence from each of the crimes to see if it can help lead them to identify potential suspects.

Griffin said the suspects are clearly targeting an area where a lot of Temple students and young people live, but there’s nothing to suggest that they are targeting Temple students specifically.

Two of the robberies — the first and third — were in the Temple police patrol zone, Griffin said, and the university has increased police presence in those areas. Multiple parents have asked the university to call in the National Guard, she said, or put a fence around the campus, neither of which are practical or possible, she said, but show the level of anxiety.

The university has offered support to the students who were victims in the home invasions, including offering them on-campus housing, Griffin said. It also is encouraging students to follow safety protocols, including not allowing strangers into their residences, securing all doors and windows and maintaining good lighting.

The university has expanded its walking escort service and shuttles. It recently launched a program to encourage landlords to improve lighting and security, and it’s maintaining a list of those landlords in its police patrol zone that are deemed quality housing.

In two of the home invasions, there were safety concerns: a broken sliding door and a broken gate, Griffin said.

Correction, Nov. 23, 2022: This story has been updated to correctly state how two men entered a property on the 1300 block of N. 15th Street. They were let in, police said.