{
  "id": "2016-09-06-penn-college-park-street-false-robbery-report",
  "slug": "penn-college-park-street-false-robbery-report-2016-09-06",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Pennsylvania College of Technology",
    "shortName": "Penn College",
    "state": "PA",
    "type": "technical-college",
    "alertSystemName": "Penn College Police Campus Alert / Timely Warning",
    "enrollment": 5000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2016-09-06",
    "type": "robbery",
    "cleryCategory": "timely-warning",
    "resolution": "unfounded",
    "headline": "Robbery TW later corrected as false campus claim",
    "headlinePublic": "Robbery TW later corrected as false campus claim",
    "summary": "Penn College Police [issued a timely warning](https://www.pct.edu/student-life/campus-safety/crime-alerts-and-timely-warnings) for a reported Park/3rd robbery, then [published an update](https://www.pct.edu/student-life/campus-safety/crime-alerts-and-timely-warnings) that the campus location claim was false. Full official texts recovered.",
    "outcome": "Update: student provided false information about on-campus location; robbery during drug purchase off campus; possible false-report charges."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Tuesday, September 6, 2016 afternoon",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Original Crime Alert/Timely Warning\n\nThis afternoon, Tuesday, September 6, a 19-year-old student reported to Penn College Police that he was assaulted and robbed at approximately 1:45 p.m. at the intersection of Park Street and West 3rd Street. He reports that he was struck from behind by three males and knocked to the ground. He describes the males as follows; a black male late 20s to early 30s, bald, 6 feet 3 inches tall, 200 pounds with a muscular build, wearing tan pants and a white t-shirt; a black male, late 20s, 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, long dread-lock hair, wearing a white t-shirt and tan pants; and a black male, mid 20s, buzz-cut hair style, wearing a white t-shirt and tan pants. He reports that they took cash out of his wallet.\n\nThe student was not injured and reported the incident to the police approximately one and one-half hours after the assault. If anyone was in the area during that time period and may have witnessed the incident, or saw the suspects prior to or after the incident, please contact Penn College Police at 570-321-5555.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.pct.edu/student-life/campus-safety/crime-alerts-and-timely-warnings",
      "sourceDescription": "Official PCT original crime alert/timely warning",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim original TW from official PCT archive."
      ],
      "characterCount": 1063,
      "confidence": "high"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Updated September 7, 2016",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Updated September 7, 2016\n\nAfter a police investigation it has been determined that the student provided false information to the police about the assault and robbery occurring on campus. The student was actually robbed of cash in the 700 block of West Edwin Street after he attempted to purchase drugs. The police are continuing their investigation. The student may face criminal charges of providing false information to law enforcement.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.pct.edu/student-life/campus-safety/crime-alerts-and-timely-warnings",
      "sourceDescription": "Official PCT update correcting false campus location claim",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim update from official PCT archive."
      ],
      "characterCount": 439,
      "confidence": "high"
    }
  ],
  "context": "Official PCT archive sequence: original TW plus next-day correction.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Original timely warning recovered.",
    "Next-day update found campus location claim false."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Crime Alerts and Timely Warnings - PCT",
      "url": "https://www.pct.edu/student-life/campus-safety/crime-alerts-and-timely-warnings",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-07-26"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "technical-college",
    "timely-warning",
    "sequence",
    "false-report",
    "pennsylvania"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-26",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-26",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}