Arrests in connection to rowdy crowds, 6 assaults at Temple over Easter weekend

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Campus chaos at Temple University this weekend with seven people arrested Sunday night and more taken into custody on Saturday.

University officials are looking into three assaults that happened Sunday, April 20. One attack involved a student and the other two who were attacked were juveniles not connected to the school.

These come a day after Temple officials said three of university students were hurt on Saturday, April 19 in incidents allegedly involving a large group of unsupervised minors.

"Incidents like these are deeply unsettling and completely unacceptable to both the university community and our neighbors. We cannot allow this type of behavior to become normalized in the area surrounding our campus," Temple President John Fry wrote in an announcement on the school's website.

Unruly behavior Saturday

In a letter to the student body, the Temple University Department of Public Safety president Jennifer Griffin wrote that a group of juveniles was unsupervised as they hung out near Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue on Saturday, April 19.

Officers with the Department of Public Safety for the university were in the area of the group around 7 p.m., Griffin explained. The university and the Philadelphia Police Department had extra patrols ready because of it being spring break for many Kindergarten through 12th graders.

At the beginning of the gathering, the group of kids was considered orderly but, Griffin said, as the evening continued, parts of the group became disorderly.

At least three Temple University students were hurt by people within the group on Saturday night, according to Griffin.

One student was attacked near Temple Towers while a second student was attacked near 12th and Montgomery streets, officials said. A third student reported being pushed to the ground.

Although several young people who were part of the disorderly group were arrested, the suspects in the attacks were not, Griffin explained.

Griffin said that the Department of Public Safety and the school's Division of Student Affairs have been in touch with the three students who were hurt.

Temple sophomore Tony McCray said he saw some of the commotion from his residence hall room.

“I was watching it from my window on the 9th floor,” McCray said. “It was pretty, like, crazy. It was just a lot of high schoolers on campus. I mean, it is their spring break and I get our school is in their neighborhood. It’s reasonable for them to be on campus, but I just think that the things they come to campus to do is, there’s no need to do that here.”

Alexis Goode, a senior at Temple, said she wasn’t on campus when the incident unfolded. She said as a whole, she does not feel unsafe on campus.

“I’m one of those people, I don’t go out late unless I’m in a group of people so that helps. I’ll take an Uber so fast if I need to go somewhere,” Goode said. “It’s just about being prepared, which is kind of unfortunate but it’s the world we live in.”

If you have any information on these incidents, please contact the Philadelphia Police Department at 215-686-3093. You can also leave a tip by calling or texting 215-686-TIPS (8477). 

Assaults on Sunday

Three assaults that happened on Sunday, April 20 are under investigation, according to the Temple University Department of Public Safety.

A Temple student was attacked, but did not get hurt, officials said.

Two other people were also assaulted near the campus, but they are not affiliated with the school, officials reported.

Seven people were arrested on Sunday night and the incidents are under investigation, according to the Department of Public Safety.

If you have any information on this incidents, please call the Department of Public Safety's Investigations Unit at 215-204-7178. You can also send an email to investigations@temple.edu

Students at Temple University are being urged by school leaders to use their walking escort system and Flight. For more safety resources, click here.