Pittsburgh police responded to a large and chaotic scene in East Liberty early Sunday morning after a crowd of teenagers grew unruly and began throwing fireworks at officers and patrol vehicles.
According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, officers were first called to the 5900 block of Penn Avenue just before 11 p.m. Saturday for a report of a fight involving a juvenile.
When police arrived, they found the situation calm, with around 50 people simply waiting in line outside a venue. There was no sign of trouble at that point, and officers left the scene.
About half an hour later, the situation changed. Police began receiving reports that juveniles in the crowd had guns and that people were firing Roman candles across North Beatty Street. By then, the group had swelled to around 75 people.
The crowd kept growing, eventually reaching close to 200 people, according to authorities. Some individuals ran through a nearby intersection as officers moved in to break up the gathering just before midnight, after declaring it an unlawful assembly.
That is when things escalated further. Police said members of the crowd started throwing large fireworks into the street, with one exploding right next to a marked patrol car and several officers standing nearby.
Video footage from a local news partner showed a large contingent of officers, some wearing tactical gear, along with at least one police dog, moving through the area as they worked to disperse the group. Despite the intensity of the scene, no injuries were reported among officers or bystanders.
One Arrest Made as Crowd Pushed Into Nearby Park
Police estimated that roughly 150 of those present were juveniles. As officers pushed the crowd away from the area near a Target on Penn Avenue, many people moved into nearby Liberty Green Park.
There, a 34-year-old man was given repeated warnings to leave before he was ultimately arrested. He is facing misdemeanor charges of failure to disperse and disorderly conduct and was taken to the Allegheny County Jail.
A teenager was also detained and taken to a hospital, though details about any injury were not released. Police said the teen would be cited and released to their parents once medical clearance was completed.
By around 1 a.m., the crowd had dispersed and Penn Avenue, which had been closed for several blocks during the incident, reopened to traffic roughly fifteen minutes later.
Authorities have not confirmed whether Saturday night’s gathering was connected to a string of so-called teen takeover events that have popped up around the city in recent months, incidents that have occasionally turned violent and drawn increased police attention heading into the summer.
