On Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Jason's Pet Care <[email protected]
> wrote:
one shot fired on the s. 200 block of 46th st just north of spruce
around 10:30 i think. cops were out there and said someone was robbed.
they found the casing but not the perp.
Begin forwarded message:
From: Amara Rockar <[email protected]>
Date: August 2, 2011 10:05:45 AM EDT
Subject: Re: [UCNeighbors] robbery at gunpoint 10:30ish aug1, 2011
According to SW Detective Joseph Murray, the victim gave up his
wallet but decided the gun wasn't real and demanded the wallet back
and then was shot.
Murray's response to a recent post on West Philly Local and
comments has a lot of good information in it and I thought I'd share:
TheFuzz9143 Says:
July 31st, 2011 at 11:32 pm
AFB, I respect your decision to not give up your things during a
robbery. I don’t agree with it, but to each his own. You cited a
robbery from earlier this month in which a store clerk was shot in
the face even though he gave up the money that was demanded of him.
If we were going tit-for-tat I could remind you of Mustafa Shaker
who was killed in his store at Front and Girard in late May. Shaker
had enough of being a victim and started throwing cans at the
robbers. One of the guys turned and shot Shaker in the face with a
shotgun as he fled the store. Could his death have been prevented by
simply giving them what they wanted? Who knows. All I know is I will
never tell a 20 year old Penn student to take a guess on whether a
gun is real or not so he can keep his iPhone.
In 2009, the FBI states police departments around the country
handled more than 400,000 robberies. Within those numbers we can
find stories of heroes and stories of tragic, senseless loss. I
recommend giving your phone up when approached by someone with a
gun. In West and Southwest Philly, we have a damn good track record
of catching robbers. In the past few months you may have read some
of the robberies I’ve posted on Twitter. You see that the 18th
district plainclothes cops have caught a lot of these kids minutes
after the crime. Trust me, that isn’t happening throughout the
city. With UPenn, University City detail, Allied Barton security,
18th district, 16th district, Drexel PD etc., you have a lot of
people protecting you out there. At Southwest Detectives we are
doing our best to catch the ones that get away. We don’t forget the
ones from months or even years ago. Everything usually comes full
circle out here…things have a way of solving themselves.
As detectives we are reactive more often than proactive when it
comes to dealing with crime. I think we could do a lot better in
getting tips out or alerting the public to crime patterns. That
being said, a lot of the tips I would give may seem like common
sense to most.
Dont walk with your iPod on full blast at night. If you must walk
late night try to use the more well-lit blocks. (Riding my bike to
and from work has really shown me just how dark these streets get.
Next time you’re riding down Pine St at night just try to make out
people walking down the sidewalks. Impossible.) If you must walk
late at night, just be aware at all times. I’m not saying be
paranoid, just use common sense when picking and choosing routes.
Crossing streets instead of walking through groups of kids. If
something doesn’t feel right..it probably isn’t. Trust your
instincts.
Missy: I happen to think that a decrease in drug activity has led to
more robberies from older teens and guys in their early 20′s. In
West/SW we just don’t see the volume of drug sales that we did
before. How else can some criminals make money if the drug game
isn’t what it used to be? As far as the younger kids, the group/
gang mentality seems to be the fad. The kids in their early teens
seem to favor the shock and awe approach meaning they bum rush and
attack then take whatever they can get their hands on. It should be
noted that when separated from the group in the police station they
tend to weep uncontrollably.
Naomi: As far as requesting escorts, it depends on where you live.
215-898-WALK is the number to request a security guard walk-along on
and near PENN’s campus. From Upenn’s safety website:
Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, between 30th to 43rd
Streets and Market Street to Baltimore Avenue.
Escorts are also available from 10:00am until 3:00am between 30th &
50th and Spring Garden Street to Woodland Avenue via the
University’s partnership with the University District Ambassador
Program.
And Missy you mentioned the criminal element moving closer to the
neighborhood. This is a major city. There are nice neighborhoods and
not so nice neighborhoods. As a fact of life, the haves and have-
nots are going to cross paths somewhere in the middle. Pick a nice
neighborhood and I can give you examples of robbers/burglars
slipping in from an adjacent area to commit crime. Just use common
sense and trust your instincts and more often than not it will be
enough to keep you safe.
If anyone has any questions or problems in West or Southwest
division feel free to respond here or email me at [email protected]
or call me at my office #215-476-1131.
