Philadelphia police search for bike riding bandits

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - There was concern on the Broad Street Corridor near Erie Avenue Monday night after police released surveillance video of a man on a bike who investigators say robbed a woman as she walked one night last week.

Police say it was just before 11 p.m. near the Erie Express takeout restaurant when a 27-year-old woman told police a man on a black mountain bike approached her. When she asked him not to ride so close to her, he reached out and snatched her iPhone 8 Plus phone and took off southbound down Broad Street.

On Friday, a couple of miles away in East Falls, another victim leaving the train station around 5:30 p.m. reported being followed by a man on a silver mountain bike along Scotts Lane. Police say he hopped off the bike, pulled out a gun,demanded cash and a phone.

Police in Southwest Philadelphia also reported Friday that a 23-year-old woman was forced into a local store and ordered to withdraw money from an ATM after being peppered sprayed by a young girl and teenage boy on bikes near 48th and Chestnut. The attacks and robberies have people on guard.

Police are reviewing video from several cameras near the robbery scene in East Falls. No one was seriously injured in these robberies.