Police were searching for the gunman, identified as Marshall Thomas, 19, of the 900 block of Brown Street in North Philadelphia.

Lt. Frank Vanore of Philadelphia Police Department's Public Affairs Unit said it was unclear whether the gunman was aiming at the victim or his estranged girlfriend as he argued with the two women at 15th and Norris Streets.

"It was a domestic argument," Vanore said. "He is considered armed and dangerous."

None of those involved are Temple students, authorities said. Police did not release the names of the women. The victim, shot in the chest, leg and hand, was taken to Temple University Hospital.

Police said bullets narrowly missed the victim's friend, a security officer employed by Allied Barton Security who works at Temple. Police said she was sitting inside a Temple security booth that was penetrated by several bullets.

Police said they believe that the security officer had a relationship with Thomas and that the couple may have had a child together.

Police said the incident began about 11:35 p.m. at the normally quiet intersection, which is bordered by university athletic fields and the student pavilion.

Although the shooting scene was not part of the campus, campus and city police quickly began working together.

"We're closely integrated with the community," said Temple spokesman Rick Betzner. "It's the northwest edge of campus."

This afternoon, traffic was busy at Temple dorms near the crime scene as students packed up for summer break.

Some students said they had not heard about the shooting, while others thought they should have been notified by the university.

"They should have told us to be on the lookout or to stay inside," said sophomore James Scott.

"It's pretty scary. It's in an area where we walk all the time," said freshman Stephanie Levy. She said the campus is well-patrolled by police and security. "When I walk around campus, I don't ever feel threatened or scared."

Betzner said that after police determined the nature of the argument, there was no need to send out an alert.

"We didn't feel there was a threat to our students," Betzner said. "We'll all feel better when he's arrested."

A statement posted on Temple's Web site said "police quickly determined the shooting was not random and there was no additional threat to the campus community.

"Temple has a comprehensive emergency alert system to communicate with students, faculty, staff and the university community in the case of a critical event or disaster. Given that this was determined to be a contained incident, the decision was made not to implement the alert system."

University surveillance cameras recorded the gunman fleeing on a bike. In the meantime, the District Attorney's Office approved charges against Thomas that include attempted murder, aggravated assault and firearms violations.

Anyone with information of Thomas' whereabouts is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS (215-686-8477).