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Six female residents, two female friends and three male visitors at a house on the 1300 block of North 15th Street were woken up at around 7 a.m. by two masked gunmen, according to the reports.
Victims were forced to gather in the basement, where the gunmen told them to give up their cell phone, car keys, and debit card with PIN number, reports indicate.
The students were locked downstairs for over an hour as the suspects searched the home, outlets wrote.
Temple officials say the incident occurred outside the University Police Department's patrol area, and that the matter is under investigation by Philadelphia police.
"Violence against one of us affects all of us," said school Vice President for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin. "Any incident affecting a member of our community is treated with the utmost care and concern. Our Division of Student Affairs is working with the students affected to provide on-campus housing, counseling, and other trauma-informed resources."
Griffin also encouraged concerned students to explore the school's Best Nest Program, which "helps students and their families find off-campus housing that meets certain safety and security criteria, which includes being located within Temple University Police Department’s patrol zone," she said.
Temple is also encouraging students to take protective safety measures, including:
- Alerting landlords to repair any broken doors, windows or locks.
- Keeping windows and doors secured with adequate locks at all times.
- Asking landlords to change or re-key the locks to your unit before you move in.
- Securing sliding glass doors with a safety bar placed in the door track to prevent the door from being forced open.
- Never hiding an extra house key under a mat, in a flowerpot, or any other easily accessible place.
Students are also reminded not to share plans about parties on social media publicly, and to only let people who they know personally into their homes.
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