Police break up crowd of students in Oakland one day after porch roof collapse
A massive crowd of University of Pittsburgh students gathered to party directly in front of the Semple Street house, where a porch roof collapsed the day before due to the weight of people partying on top of it.
There were so many people that the edge of the crowd was difficult to discern in videos posted of it.
"College kids, it's what we do." Pitt student Julia Elmaghraby said. "It was super busy, shoulder to shoulder, like mosh pit level."
Pittsburgh Police and University of Pittsburgh Police broke up the Saint Patrick's Day weekend crowd.
"Everybody get out of the street or your gonna be arrested," Elmaghraby recalled police saying.
One person was injured when they fell face-first onto concrete, a Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson said. Other than that, they said police were able to disperse the crowd without further incident.
Multiple Pitt students told KDKA-TV they saw other students at times throw beers at the officers before they moved to clear the street.
It was clear that the students were frustrated, Pitt student Ethan Master said.
"Especially after everything that happened yesterday, so there [were] a couple knocks on the [police car] windows," Master said.
He explained that students felt like they should be able to have their party Saturday because their party ended early Friday due to the collapse.
"Even more than that, I think today was always supposed to be the party," Master said.
Many, but not all, students heeded Pitt leaders' warnings to stay off the roofs of homes as they celebrated Saturday.
"Some of my neighbors still want to go on the roof, but I don't think that's a good idea," said Pitt student Nathan Pierzchala.
Sixteen people were injured in the collapse, three of them seriously. A public safety spokesperson said they remain in serious but stable condition.
"Last night [and] today, everyone has been worried about the victims," Master said.
City officials said a permit was issued for an event in the area. It was revoked due to the large crowd.
A landlord told KDKA-TV that the permit should have been revoked earlier due to the collapse.
