UPDATED (1/25/14, 9:45 a.m.): Two female suspects in the robbery spree have been arrested, 6ABC reports. Police are still looking for the two male suspects.

(1/24/14, 11:41 p.m.): Police are searching for a group of suspects involved in multiple robberies at West and Southwest Philly shops and restaurants, including three Thursday night robberies and attempted robberies at Stacy’s Pizza (4201 Market St), the Garden Court Eatery (4725 Pine St), and Gold Star Pizza (4627 Woodland Ave).

The robbery spree began last week, on January 18, when a group of four young people – two males and two females –  wearing masks robbed the Subway sandwich shop at 56th and Lancaster after pointing a handgun at an employee. The robbery took place around 6 p.m. and police say that all of the suspects are between 17 and 20 years old. They fled the store in a turquoise sedan. Later that night, at around 10:15 p.m., two males robbed Hibachi Grill located at 3000 Island Ave, also at gunpoint.

Police say the other three robberies and robbery attempts took place Thursday night, in the area between Market St and Woodland Ave and 42nd and 48th streets. The first took place at approximately 10:30 p.m. at the Gold Star Pizza restaurant when an unknown male, described as a 20-23 year-old black male with light mustache and a beard, walked into the store and after looking at the menu demanded money from the cashier. When the cashier attempted to alert other employees who were in the back of the store the suspect pulled a handgun. The cashier told the suspect that she didn’t have any money and the man fled the store, according to police.

The second incident happened about 15 minutes later at the Garden Court Eatery when a man fitting the above mentioned description, walked into the store pointing a gun at a female employee and demanding money. The employee started screaming and the suspect fled the store.

The third incident, at Stacy’s Pizza, took place at around 11:20 p.m. and this time two robbers were able to escape with an unknown amount of cash after pointing a gun at the cashier and forcing her to open the cash register. The robbers fled in a red Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows.

Police have released surveillance video of the incidents and ask anyone with information about these individuals to contact Southwest Detectives Division at 215-686-3183/3184 or call 911 immediately if you see them.

Updated with details at 12:57 p.m.

Police caught two men yesterday after a report of a gunpoint robbery at 45th and Pine. The robbery took place around 5:20 p.m., according to police, and the victim was also pistol-whipped. The police arrived quickly after the incident was reported, chased and caught both men. One of them was armed with a gun, according to a tweet by officer Joe Murray (@PPDJoeMurray) of the Southwest Police Detectives.

The victim, a 41-year-old male, said he was walking down the 4500 block of Pine Street, stopped at his mother’s house and pulled out his cell phone, according to a police report. He said two males approached him and when he looked down again at his cell phone, he felt an object strike him in the side of the head. He fell to the ground, looked up and saw one man holding a gun. One suspect said “Take the phone” to other, the victim told police.

The victim quickly ran into his mother’s home and called police. After a brief foot pursuit, police apprehended one of the suspects near 47th and Spruce. He had a 25-caliber handgun. The other suspect was captured on the 4600 block of Spruce Street. The victim identified the suspects, both of whom were 17 years old, according to a police report.

The victim received five stitches at Mercy Hospital and was released.

Police are looking for leads in a recent series of gunpoint robberies at businesses in West Philadelphia.

The robbery spree began at about 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 13 at the Natural Coffee near 52nd Street and Baltimore Avenue when a man wearing a blue hoodie with white strings and a blue mask entered the store and demanded cash. The man fled with an undetermined amount of cash.

A man fitting the same description robbed the Cricket Mobile store at 5547 Baltimore Ave. at about 1 p.m. on Nov. 14. About an hour later, police say the same man robbed the Lucky 7 Food Market at 54 N. 57th St. Two more robberies were reported that day – one at about 7:20 at the Ace Cash Express near 52nd and one another 40 minutes later at Daslin Grocery at 700 S. 55th. The suspect in those robberies matched the previous ones, according to police.

A store employee at Ace Cash Express said the man entered the business at closing time and demanded cash. The employee pushed the “panic button” and after several attempts to open the cash register the suspect took $3 from the employee and fled.

Police describe the suspect as a black male, about 20 years old who was about 5 feet, 6 inches tall with a dark complexion.

To report a tip, do one of the following:

• To submit a tip via telephone, dial 215.686.TIPS (8477)
• Text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.
• Use this electronic form to submit a tip anonymously.

This video of the suspect was posted on the  Philadelphia Police YouTube Channel.

Editor’s Note: Readers’ comments are welcomed. We received a request though not to identify the block or houses seen in the video or neighbors whose surveillance camera or cameras might have been used.

The man who, armed with a gun, robbed and sexually assaulted a 29-year-old woman on the morning of October 14 on the 5000 block of Hazel Avenue, is still at large. The police have released surveillance video of the suspect and are asking for public’s assistance in identifying this person. On the video below, the suspect, an 18-20 year-old man wearing a red t-shirt and dark colored pants, can be seen walking in the area prior to the assault that took place around 11:50 a.m.

The suspect is also wanted in connection to several other robberies in the area, according to police.

If you see this person, you are asked not to approach him but to call 911 immediately. To submit a tip via telephone, dial 215.686.TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.

At least five gunpoint robberies took place in the area between Locust Street and Baltimore Avenue and 46th and 50th Streets over the weekend and police are looking for the suspects, according to tweets by Joe Murray of the Southwest Police Detectives.

The robberies happened on the 4700 block of Hazel Ave (on Friday around 8:30 p.m.), 4900 block of Locust St (on Friday, around 9 p.m.), 4800 block of Osage Ave (on Saturday, around 9:20 p.m.), 4600 block of Baltimore Ave (on Saturday, around 10 p.m.), and 4800 block of Larchwood Ave (on Sunday, around 6:10 p.m.), according to the Crime Reports map. There was also a robbery on the 4600 block of Locust St on Saturday at about 8:40 p.m. (see map image), but it’s not clear whether a gun was involved.

There are no more details available at this time. We’ll post more information when we have it.

Editor’s Note: Police have said that they have received many useful tips on this case (see the update below). This is not an easy case for us to report for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a sexual assault and that requires the utmost sensitivity to cultivate a constructive conversation that does not blame the victim. Second, the perpetrator is still at large and many neighbors are trying to help find him, which is important in a functional and vital community. But we also must be sensitive to jumping to conclusions about our neighbors who are thin, young African American males. If we’re not, we risk that functional and vital community that everyone wants.

UPDATE (10/16/13, 9:00 a.m.): Police are still searching for the suspect. “The public is really stepping up and sending us tips, videos and names. Helping a lot,” Detective Joe Murray told West Philly Local.

A woman was sexually assaulted and robbed at gunpoint at 11:45 a.m. on Monday near 50th and Hazel. The 29-year-old was the latest victim in a string of as many as a half-dozen gunpoint robberies in that area in the last two weeks.

The victim told West Philly Local that she was approached by an African American male, 18-22 years old, wearing a red t-shirt. According to police, she was robbed of cash and then taken to a nearby alley and sexually assaulted.

“(I) didn’t even think at 11:45 in the morning on Hazel that this would happen,” the victim said.

Police confirmed the uptick in armed robberies in the vicinity in recent days. The victim said her friend was approached last night by a man fitting the same description only wearing a red hooded sweatshirt with white drawstrings near 50th and Pentridge. The man said he was from Detroit and asked for directions. The person immediately called police and the man fled. Two other robberies were reported last night and the general description of the perpetrator is similar.

Detective Joe Murray said the descriptions are similar, but couldn’t confirm that the robber was the same person that attacked the woman on Monday morning. Police are investigating the case and we’ll post an update when we have more information.

Here’s a more detailed description of the perpetrator provided by the victim:

African American male, aged 18-22, 5’8, very skinny, no facial hair, short haircut, no distinguishable scars/tattoos, was wearing a red t-shirt.