On Monday, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials addressed reports of violence during Downtown’s Light Up Night festivities Saturday, saying no major incidents were reported. “I was in Market Square, and I did see those things happening, and that’s very unfortunate,” said Assistant Public Safety Director David A. Jones. “A group of kids would start running, and the rest would follow behind. As you’re an onlooker passing through, trying to get from one restaurant to the next, that’s a little scary.” However, Jones said there were no shootings or attacks on innocent bystanders because the flare-ups of fights were between teenage girls.Public safety also brought in a half dozen community outreach groups that work with youth to help prevent the type of outbursts that occurred.”They were also altercations that were broken up very quickly,” Jones said. “Our outreach team was there, our police were there. As soon as something happened, we were there to break it up.” The response comes after a criminal complaint said that dozens of people were in and out of the Downtown Public Safety Center’s lobby, being processed for offenses. Many people were said to have challenged police officers and threatened to initiate fights.A spokesperson for the city told Action News 4 prior to the complaint being obtained that “a number of people were detained, 18 non-traffic citations were issued, and 3 arrests were made.”Roughly 70,000 people were said to have attended Light Up Night this year. Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.

PITTSBURGH —

On Monday, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials addressed reports of violence during Downtown’s Light Up Night festivities Saturday, saying no major incidents were reported.

“I was in Market Square, and I did see those things happening, and that’s very unfortunate,” said Assistant Public Safety Director David A. Jones. “A group of kids would start running, and the rest would follow behind. As you’re an onlooker passing through, trying to get from one restaurant to the next, that’s a little scary.”

However, Jones said there were no shootings or attacks on innocent bystanders because the flare-ups of fights were between teenage girls.

Public safety also brought in a half dozen community outreach groups that work with youth to help prevent the type of outbursts that occurred.

“They were also altercations that were broken up very quickly,” Jones said. “Our outreach team was there, our police were there. As soon as something happened, we were there to break it up.”

The response comes after a criminal complaint said that dozens of people were in and out of the Downtown Public Safety Center’s lobby, being processed for offenses. Many people were said to have challenged police officers and threatened to initiate fights.

A spokesperson for the city told Action News 4 prior to the complaint being obtained that “a number of people were detained, 18 non-traffic citations were issued, and 3 arrests were made.”

Roughly 70,000 people were said to have attended Light Up Night this year.

Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.