Overview

• Police identified the suspect as Marcus Armstrong, 35, who allegedly tried to rob a man at gunpoint outside a home on East Blackberry Alley before forcing his way inside.
• A female resident fled into the house where her roommate used a samurai sword to strike the intruder, according to detectives.
• Officers followed a trail of blood to Cherry Street and found Armstrong with a stab wound, and he was taken to Penn Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition.
• Investigators say the weapon Armstrong carried was a replica gun, and he now faces burglary and robbery charges.
• Detectives describe the incident as a possible crime of opportunity and note Armstrong’s prior county convictions in 2011 and 2012.