Man assaulted by teens in Downtown Pittsburgh 7-Eleven speaks out: "I don't want this to happen to anyone else"
A man assaulted by a group of teens in a Downtown Pittsburgh 7-Eleven over Memorial Day weekend reflected on the attack weeks later, saying he feared for his life.
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is working to identify the four juvenile males involved in the assault on May 23 at the convenience store on Penn Avenue. The man, who did not want to be identified, said he ran into the group of teenagers as he walked into the 7-Eleven.
"They sort of started making comments about the way I was dressed and the way I was walking, and sizing me up, looking me up and down," he told KDKA on Wednesday.
Surveillance video captured the man, wearing a tan jacket and blue shirt, standing in line to check out. He said he saw the teens by a cooler, stuffing items in their pants.
"That's when I said, 'Hey, stop that,' and I told the store clerk, 'Hey, these kids are shoplifting,'" he said.
However, things quickly escalated.
"The guy started getting in my face, and I said, 'You need to back up,' and they didn't, so I pushed him in his chest," he said.
The teens threw punches and chased him out of the store across the street, the man said.
"I started feeling dozens of strikes on my head, and at that moment I had a thought, 'Is this it? Is this just how it goes?'" he said.
He got away with the help of a bystander, called 911, and made a police report, eventually deciding to get a CT scan at the ER. He's physically OK, but he's still feeling some psychological impacts and hopes something can change.
"I don't want it to happen to anyone else," he said.
He said he wouldn't have done anything differently and would react the same way if he encountered a similar situation.
"We're just going to idly stand by and let criminals commit crimes? No, not in my home. I won't tolerate it," he said.
Authorities said detectives are still working to identify four teenage boys using surveillance video. Once they do, they'll seek out warrants.
