Philadelphia Police released surveillance video of a group of teen girls accused of assaulting a Temple University student with a brick.
On March 21, at 6 p.m., a 19-year-old Temple Student and her boyfriend were walking on the 1600 block of Norris Street. As they arrived at the intersection of 17th and Norris Streets, they were approached by a large group of teen girls.
Police say one of the girls then struck the student in the face with a brick while the other suspects tried to rob the student's boyfriend.
“My boyfriend pushed the girl away from me that hit me in the face and then the girl’s sister came at me with a brick,” the victim, who wanted to remain anonymous, told NBC10.com in an exclusive interview. “I tried to get away as fast as I could. My teeth were halfway out of my mouth. I wasn’t thinking about anything besides getting to safety.”
Police say the suspects then fled the area and boarded a SEPTA bus traveling south on 17th Street.
The student was taken to Hahnemann Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for dislocated teeth and other facial injuries.
On Monday, police released a surveillance video of four of the suspects.
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The first suspect is described as a girl between the ages of 16 and 17 with braids and wearing a red t-shirt. The second suspect is described as a girl between the ages of 16 and 17 with straight hair, tattoos on her arms and chest and wearing a denim jacket.
The third suspect is described as a girl between the ages of 16 and 17 with her hair tied in a bun and standing 5-feet. Finally, the fourth suspect is described as a tall girl with straight hair between the ages of 16 and 17 dressed in all white.
Another Temple University student also came forward, claiming she was attacked by a group of young girls minutes before the attack on Norris Street.
The 20-year-old junior, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told NBC10.com she was text messaging a friend as she walked down her street, the 1700 block of Willington Street, around 5:45 p.m. on Friday when she was blindsided by a fist.
“I typed [the message] and lifted my head to start walking again and as I lifted my head up, there was a girl coming at me, swinging at me, and I was able to lean back. She barely hit my chin, and then she swung again and hit my mouth area and my neck and I was able to shove her away and sprint away,” she said.
The student says a group of seven to 10 girls took part in the unprovoked attack that left her with a few bruises. When she was able to break away, the woman says she ran to her nearby house, which is just feet from Philadelphia Police’s 22nd District headquarters.
While Philadelphia Police confirmed the brick attack on the 19-year-old girl, they have not yet confirmed the attack on the 20-year-old student.
On Monday night, Temple University officials released an alert to students and announced they were made aware of the assaults as well as an attempted purse snatching on a Temple student by a pair of juvenile girls early Monday evening.
According to Jim Creedon, Senior Vice President for Construction, Facilities and Operations at Temple, an alert was not issued to the school on Friday because the school was not made aware of the attacks until several hours after they took place. According to Creedon, an alert is only issued when there is an "immediate or imminent threat to the campus community and/or some immediate action is needed to be taken by the campus community."
"To be clear, the TU Alerts are designed to make you aware of an immediate threat or ask you to take action that will change your normal behavior and keep you safe," Creedon said. "It is not a method of reporting crime on or around campus.
Philadelphia Police and Temple Police continue to investigate.
