February 24, 2016
Philadelphia police have arrested a man they say was wielding a 2-foot machete in the University of Pennsylvania’s Van Pelt Library on Tuesday, 6ABC reports.
According to 6ABC, police say he also had a box cutter and a stolen ID in his possession.
6ABC reports that a Penn employee saw the suspect walking near 34th and Walnut streets with what was described as a large knife in his possession.
The employee alerted police, kept an eye on the suspect from afar and saw him enter the library.
Police arrived at the library within 2 minutes of being alerted and said they located the suspect on the fourth floor with the machete in hand, 6ABC reports.
He was arrested and taken into custody without incident.
Penn temporarily closed the library during the incident and sent an alert to students.
According to 6ABC, police said they later learned the man was homeless and had allegedly found the machete on the street and been walking around with it for several days.
Read the full 6ABC report here.
