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<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tANSWERS. THIS STRETCH HERE OF BAY STREET AND PENN AVENUE IN EAST LIBERTY IS QUIET NOW. BUT ON THE NIGHT OF THE 4TH OF JULY, IT WAS THE SIGHT OF OVER 100 TEENAGERS FIGHTING WITH ONE ANOTHER AND SHOOTING FIREWORKS AT EACH OTHER AND POLICE. IT WAS THE THIRD TEEN TAKEOVER THE CITY HAS SEEN IN THE LAST WEEK. MULTIPLE PITTSBURGH CITY OFFICIALS, INCLUDING MAYOR COREY O\u2019CONNOR, ADDRESSED THE RECENT STRING OF TEEN TAKEOVERS LAST FRIDAY DURING THEIR 4TH OF JULY SAFETY PRESS CONFERENCE. THEIR COMMENTS INCLUDED BEING HYPER VIGILANT AND DESCRIBING THE TEENS RECENT BEHAVIOR AS, QUOTE, DISTURBING. THE NEXT NIGHT, NEARLY 150 TEENS WERE FIGHTING ALONG PENN AND BEATTY IN EAST LIBERTY AND EVENTUALLY FIRED ROMAN CANDLES AND FIREWORKS AT EACH OTHER AND TOWARDS POLICE. NO ONE WAS INJURED, BUT THAT LED TO A LARGE EFFORT TO DISPERSE THE CROWD. TWO DAYS BEFORE THAT, POOLS IN HIGHLAND PARK AND BLOOMFIELD CLOSED AFTER GROUPS OF TEENAGERS REFUSED TO FOLLOW ORDERS FROM LIFEGUARDS. THAT LED TO ME REACHING OUT TO MAYOR COREY O\u2019CONNOR\u2019S OFFICE, MULTIPLE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SAFETY TO ASK WHAT\u2019S BEING DONE TO CONTROL THIS ONGOING TREND? SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS, INCLUDING DISTRICT NINE COREY MOSLEY, WHO REPRESENTS EAST LIBERTY, DID NOT GET BACK WITH ME. OTHERS DIRECTED ME TO O\u2019CONNOR\u2019S OFFICE. THE MAYOR DID NOT HAVE A COMMENT ON THE TAKEOVERS. PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SAFETY DID GET BACK TO ME WITH A STATEMENT THAT READS, QUOTE, THERE ARE MANY DISCUSSIONS TAKING PLACE WITHIN CITY GOVERNMENT TO INCLUDE MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS REGARDING HOW THESE GATHERINGS WILL BE HANDLED MOVING FORWARD. IN THE INTEREST OF KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE, PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR SHELDON WILLIAMS ADDRESSED THE MEDIA DURING THE 4TH OF JULY PRESS CONFERENCE LAST FRIDAY. AND THAT IS WHEN HE CALLED THE TEEN\u2019S RECENT BEHAVIOR DISTURBING. HE ALSO ADDED THAT THEIR BEHAVIOR AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF IT FALLS ON THE PARENTS.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Public Safety responds to third teen takeover in 7 days on Fourth of July<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 7:33 PM EDT Jul 6, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tEditorial Standards \u24d8<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe corner of Beatty Street and Penn Avenue in East Liberty is quiet now, but the night of the Fourth of July, it was where more than a hundred teenagers shot fireworks at each other and police.It was the third teen takeover in the city in the last week.Those with Pittsburgh Public Safety, including Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor, addressed the recent string of teen takeovers on Friday, July 3.\u201cWe want to make sure that everybody has a safe event, and when you feel as if individuals are watching, that they’re hypervigilant, it’s because of various reasons,\u201d Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams said at that time. \u201cThey’re dealing with ranges of kids from 8 all the way up to 18, and it’s disturbing to see that you have young kids out at late-night hours. I’m talking after 11 o’clock, 12 o’clock, 1 o’clock in the morning. That type of behavior is the responsibility of the parents, so we’re making a strong recommendation that they just do exactly that. Be parents. Be aware of where your kids are.\u201dThe next night, nearly 150 teens were fighting along Penn and Beatty in East Liberty and eventually fired Roman candles and fireworks at each other and toward police. Nobody was injured. That led to a large effort to disperse the crowd.Two days before that, pools in Highland Park and Bloomfield closed after groups of teenagers refused to follow orders from lifeguards.Looking for more news in your area | Subscribe to the WTAE YouTube ChannelOn Monday, Pittsburgh\u2019s Action News 4 reached out to O\u2019Connor\u2019s office, multiple city council members and Pittsburgh Public Safety to ask what\u2019s being done to control this ongoing trend.Only public safety responded to the inquiry, saying, \u201cThere are many discussions taking place within city government – to include multiple departments – regarding how these gatherings will be handled moving forward in the interest of keeping everyone safe.\u201dSome council members, including District 9’s Khari Mosley, who represents East Liberty, haven\u2019t responded for comment yet.Others directed our inquiry to O\u2019Connor\u2019s office. The mayor did not have a comment on the takeovers on Monday.Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tPITTSBURGH \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The corner of Beatty Street and Penn Avenue in East Liberty is quiet now, but the night of the Fourth of July, it was where more than a hundred teenagers shot fireworks at each other and police.<\/a><\/p>\n It was the third teen takeover in the city in the last week.<\/p>\n Those with Pittsburgh Public Safety, including Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor, addressed the recent string of teen takeovers<\/a> on Friday, July 3.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure that everybody has a safe event, and when you feel as if individuals are watching, that they’re hypervigilant, it’s because of various reasons,\u201d Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams said at that time. \u201cThey’re dealing with ranges of kids from 8 all the way up to 18, and it’s disturbing to see that you have young kids out at late-night hours. I’m talking after 11 o’clock, 12 o’clock, 1 o’clock in the morning. That type of behavior is the responsibility of the parents, so we’re making a strong recommendation that they just do exactly that. Be parents. Be aware of where your kids are.\u201d<\/p>\n The next night, nearly 150 teens were fighting along Penn and Beatty in East Liberty and eventually fired Roman candles and fireworks at each other and toward police. Nobody was injured. That led to a large effort to disperse the crowd.<\/p>\n Two days before that, pools in Highland Park and Bloomfield closed<\/a> after groups of teenagers refused to follow orders from lifeguards.<\/p>\n Looking for more news in your area | Subscribe to the WTAE YouTube Channel<\/a><\/p>\n On Monday, Pittsburgh\u2019s Action News 4 reached out to O\u2019Connor\u2019s office, multiple city council members and Pittsburgh Public Safety to ask what\u2019s being done to control this ongoing trend.<\/p>\n Only public safety responded to the inquiry, saying, \u201cThere are many discussions taking place within city government – to include multiple departments – regarding how these gatherings will be handled moving forward in the interest of keeping everyone safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Some council members, including District 9’s Khari Mosley, who represents East Liberty, haven\u2019t responded for comment yet.<\/p>\n Others directed our inquiry to O\u2019Connor\u2019s office. The mayor did not have a comment on the takeovers on Monday.<\/p>\n Download the WTAE app<\/a> to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters<\/a> to get breaking news in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANSWERS. THIS STRETCH HERE OF BAY STREET AND PENN AVENUE IN EAST LIBERTY IS QUIET NOW. 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