Police were called to an off-campus apartment around 2 a.m. where several Temple University students were attending a party and gathered on the rooftop.
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Police said two 19-year-old women were taking selfies and fell from the roof and onto the sidewalk of a back alley.
One of the students suffered leg and ankle injuries, and the other is in critical but stable condition with injuries to multiple parts of her body.
"I feel bad for my friend who was there and did see it and had a really rough night trying to deal with that emotionally," Allison Byrne told our sister station WPVI-TV.
The management company for the building said the rooftop has a deck with a parapet wall and railings, but some students -- who have been to the space before -- said it's not safe.
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"There's not enough room blocking you from falling off, so if you're drinking and you run right into it, it's really easy to slip right off because it only comes to like a little halfway between your knee and hip," Arnav Johri said.
Neighbors who have lived in the area for decades say not even COVID-19 has stopped students from partying, and they hope this is a wake-up call.
"Just hope that someone learns from their example not to be on the roof. It happens all the time," one person told WPVI.
Temple Police is handling the investigation and is being assisted by the Philadelphia Police.