PITTSBURGH — According to the store’s website, the Sephora in East Liberty isn’t even open yet. But on Tuesday, police said a group of teenage girls attacked a woman, before she eventually escaped with a head injury.
Photos showed bottles of products scattered all over the floor at the Sephora in East Liberty. Police said a group of six teenage girls, between 14 and 17 years old, confronted a woman near the bus stop across the street. They followed her into the Caava and eventually started a fight inside Sephora.
“I saw police cars lined on both sides of the street. I saw 10 kids sitting there,” Junyetta Seale said.
While inside the store, police say the girls started beating the woman with a metal sign, punching and kicking her, and throwing bottles of makeup at her.
The woman was able to get away, and was later found bleeding heavily from the head. She was transported to a hospital.
An estimated $30,000 in damage was done inside the store.
Seale lives across the street and works with kids in the area. She says the recent violence from kids has intimidated her neighbors.
“Most of my residents are afraid to come out of their building. They are afraid to say anything to the kids for fear that the kids may act out against them,” Seale said.
On Wednesday, the store remained closed, and workers were cleaning up the mess.
Originally, Sephora’s website listed the store’s grand opening as Friday. Now it’s listed as May 15, and the website notes an emergency at the store.
It’s not clear how people were able to go inside yesterday.
The Meridian still has several storefronts to fill. We asked Mayor O’Connor what the city is doing about this incidence of teen violence and how they can encourage business owners to fill the vacancies.
“We take all of that seriously. We want to make sure people are welcome at our businesses all over the city in Pittsburgh. So yes, there’s an investigation going on,” Mayor O’Connor said.
The teens are now facing several charges, including aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy.
Channel 11 contacted The Meridian and Sephora for comment, but did not hear back.
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