Strong-arm robbery of students at bus stops has Montgomery County community on high alert

CHELTENHAM TOWNSHIP, Pa. - Police are calling it a strong-arm robbery. They say a threat was made and a phone was stolen. The victims are students who were headed to school.

The getaway car is a black Kia sedan. It is a four-door with tinted windows and damage to the front bumper. Cheltenham Police put out the pictures and say the car has an unknown Delaware registration plate. It is the car police believe three people were in when they robbed a student waiting at a school bus stop.

Police say it happened around 7:45 Wednesday morning on the 400 block of Asbury Avenue, in the Melrose Park area of the township.

A girl who called 911 said a male in the Kia called her over to the car, threatened her, grabbed her cellphone from her and the car pulled off.

Police say the same car and suspects approached two other bus stops near Mountain Avenue and Valley Road and tried to pull off similar robberies.

The principal of Cedarbrook Middle School sent out a letter to parents after learning from students what happened at one of the bus stops.

The letter reads in part, "We immediately began to collect information from the scholars involved and contacted the Cheltenham Police Department. They are now investigating the incident. Counseling services and resources will be provided to the scholars involved." 

Principal Craig Metcalfe also stated in the letter that police would be monitoring that bus stop for the rest of the week.

Police say the suspects in the car were two males and one female with red or maroon hair. They are believed to be in their late teens to early twenties.