Hundreds of teens ran from New Year’s Eve party at South Side Slopes Airbnb after police arrived

PITTSBURGH — Hundreds of teenagers ran from a New Year’s Eve party at an Airbnb on Cobden Street in the South Side Slopes this week.

“We saw the people overflowing from out of the house onto the street and everything. Then the cops started saying for them to disperse. Then just crowds and crowds of kids,” a witness told Channel 11.

She watched the chaos from her home.

“[There were] 300 to 500… easy. And I asked one of the kids, were all of you in one house? And they were laughing and saying yeah!”

Pittsburgh Police tell Channel 11 — the property is an Airbnb, and officers responded to a noise complaint because of a loud party.

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When they got there, officers cleared the home — which is when the teens poured onto the street.

“It was a lot of teenagers. I don’t even know how they can all fit in that house. It was crazy,” another witness said

To try to prevent massive house parties, Airbnb says they now use AI technology to flag “high risk bookings.”

The company says they stopped around 33 thousand bookings in 2023.

The City of Pittsburgh has also passed legislation that requires all rental properties to be regulated by applying for permits and passing an inspection.

The changes in city legislation come two and a half years after a mass shooting during a large party at an Airbnb in the North side, where two teenagers were killed, and nine others hurt. No one has ever been charged in their deaths.

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Neighbors here are relieved this party didn’t turn violent.

“It brought back memories. That’s an easy way for people to lose their lives. You don’t know who is going to be there and what is going to go down.”

This house is listed on the Airbnb website, but the company confirmed they did not have a reservation on New Year’s Eve.

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