PITTSBURGH \u2014 Hundreds of juveniles took over Market Square and created chaos after the City\u2019s Juneteenth celebration on Friday night. <\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Public Safety says up to 50 of those kids and teens got into a fight, forcing officers to deploy pepper spray.<\/p>\n
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Market Square cleared amid \u2018escalating violence\u2019 among large group of juveniles<\/a><\/p>\n Police say that due to escalating violence, assaults on officers and the confiscation of guns, the decision was made to shut down Market Square. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople getting shot and killed and beaten up, it\u2019s really getting bad,\u201d Barbara Allen from Carnegie tells Channel 11. \u201cTheir parents let them do what they want to do. I\u2019m afraid to come down here a lot of times. Someone shoots a gun at somebody; they could come over and kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n By the end of the night, nine people were charged and three guns were recovered by officers. <\/p>\n On Monday, Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor reacted to the violence. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re aware of what\u2019s been going on not only in Pittsburgh, but across the country with the teen takeovers,\u201d Mayor O\u2019Connor tells Channel 11. <\/p>\n Mayor O\u2019Connor says his administration\u2019s strategy is to keep teens engaged with special events and youth programs. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019ve had special events in Market Square, our numbers have dwindled for incidents over the past few months, and unfortunately, on Friday that was not the case,\u201d Mayor O\u2019Connor said. <\/p>\n Market Square is no stranger to violent crime, <\/a>and the city has seen its fair share of teen takeovers. <\/p>\n Last month, Channel 11 told you when a 16-year-old was charged as an adult after police said he shot and killed another teen outside of the same Chipotle. <\/p>\n Just last Wednesday in East Liberty, police say a crowd of 400 people got together at Liberty Green Park. Many of those gathering were teens who were fighting. Police say pepper spray also had to be used to break things up. <\/p>\n PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Pittsburgh Police disperse 400 disorderly juveniles in East Liberty, officials say<\/a><\/p>\n Market Square does have a chaperone policy in place from 3 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday. Since Juneteenth celebrations were underway and the event organizer had a permit, there was no chaperone policy in effect Friday night. The organizer ended up putting a chaperone policy in place for Saturday night. <\/p>\n While Channel 11 was getting ready for a live report Monday afternoon, around 3:30 p.m., a man was arrested after being tased by two officers. <\/p>\n Witnesses tell Channel 11 that he knocked over a barrier and was involved in a fight. We\u2019ve reached out to Pittsburgh Public Safety. We\u2019ll let you know when we learn more. <\/p>\n Download the FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n \u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n