Temple University students robbed at gunpoint, held in basement at off-campus apartment
Philadelphia police are investigating an armed home robbery involving Temple University students that occurred Friday morning at an off-campus apartment, school officials said.
Some of the victims recounted the harrowing experience to ABC Philadelphia station WPVI, which they said started when one of the roommates responded to a knock at the door.
The roommate let the two young men in the apartment, believing they knew someone inside, the students told the station.
Several of the roommates were then woken up by an armed man, who took one of them to wake up the rest, the students said.
Eleven people were in the home at the time, including six female residents, three boyfriends and two female friends who had stayed over, WPVI reported. They were all locked in the apartment's basement for over an hour, the students said.
While in the basement, some of the victims were able to get their laptops and messaged anyone they could think of to call 911 and report that they were being held up, they told WPVI.
The victims told WPVI they believe the suspects were at the wrong address because the two men repeatedly asked, "Where are the drugs?"
The students were ultimately forced to hand over their cellphones, car keys and debit cards along with their PINs, they told WPVI. Police said the pair also stole a 2015 Infinity minivan, according to WPVI.
Police responded to the apartment building around 7 a.m. and are looking for the suspects. Investigators were canvassing the area for surveillance footage, according to WPVI.
No injuries were reported, though the students were left shaken.
"You never think it's going to happen to you, but when it does, it's like a shock," one student told WPVI.
"I think the sad part is, we all talked in the room -- we all realized that once they came in the room, everyone was kind of, 'Oh, it's our time now,'" another student told the station.
The university confirmed in a statement to ABC News that Temple students "were robbed at gunpoint at an off-campus property," located outside of the patrol zone of the Temple University Police Department.
"The most important thing is that no one was reported hurt or injured during this incident," the university said. "The safety of the Temple community remains the university's top priority."
The Philadelphia Police Department did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
