Pittsburgh Public Schools leaders concerned about safety are warning families about a social media–promoted gathering planned on Friday.
Pittsburgh Public Schools says it’s urging parents to have conversations with their children after posts online began promoting what’s being called a “Downtown Takeover.”
District officials say the event is not school-sanctioned or supervised and could create potential safety risks for students.
Families received a message encouraging them to discourage attendance and remind students to make safe decisions.
The alert comes days after a large fight involving more than 40 juveniles broke out in Market Square, where police say pepper spray was used and several arrests were made.
Pittsburgh Police say they are aware of the planned gathering and will be closely monitoring downtown Friday. Public Safety Director Sheldon Williams tells Marty Griffin the city is seeing what he calls an informal youth culture — a description he says has drawn criticism, which he explains.
“I want to set a different culture, a culture of expectancy that lets them know where kids are permitted and allowed to be in spaces and how they participate in some of the events and stuff like that and that’s going to take some time to do that,” said Williams. “What we can’t do is allow this informal culture to permeate.”
A large gathering is planned Friday
