A group of Philadelphia college students living in an off-campus apartment stated that armed robbers broke into their home, robbed them at gunpoint, and locked them in a basement early Friday morning, reported WPVI-TV.
Around 7 a.m. on Friday, police were called to an off-campus student apartment building for a reported home invasion and robbery. Eight female and three male residents were inside the building at the time of the incident.
The Temple University students told WPVI-TV that they were woken up in the early hours of the morning by a knock at the door by two masked men.
The students stated that one of the roommates decided to let them in because she thought they might know someone in the building.
According to Philadelphia Police Captain Michael Goodson, at least one of the suspects had a gun.
"We were all just woken up. There was a guy with a gun. He came into a couple of our rooms. He made one of us go and wake up the rest of the roommates with the guy with the gun," one of the students stated.
The victims said they figured the men were not at the correct address because they kept asking, "Where are the drugs?"
When the robbers did not find any drugs in the apartment, they locked all 11 residents in the basement.
"We were all kept in the same room together for over an hour they were there," one victim said.
"I think the sad part is, we all talked in the room, we all realized once they came into the room, everyone was kind of like 'oh, it's our time now,'" another student said.
The victims were forced to give the home invaders their cell phones, debit cards, and car keys. According to authorities, the robbers made off with a 2015 Lincoln MKZ sedan.
None of the students were physically harmed, but they were shaken over the terrifying robbery.
"You never think it's going to happen to you, but when it does, it's like a shock," one student stated.
While in the basement, some of the victims were able to get access to their laptops and message someone to call the police.
Another similar home invasion occurred early Wednesday morning involving Temple University student Kayla Barone.
According to Barone, three masked robbers broke into her home and forced her and her two roommates into a room at gunpoint. The crooks stole Barone's cash, debit cards, cell phone, and other items.
Jennifer Griffin, Temple University VP of Public Safety, said in a statement Friday, "Violence against one of us affects all of us. Any incident affecting a member of our community is treated with the utmost care and concern."
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