Parents demand answers after man gets involved in fight with group of teen girls

TARENTUM, Pa. — A few parents in Tarentum said they are upset over how a fight involving several teenage girls is being handled.

The brawl happened in broad daylight in front of the Grandview Elementary playground.

Pepper spray is what allegedly sparked the huge fight captured on a cellphone.

In the video, you see a man with a child. At one point, he is on his cellphone calling police. Moments later, he gets involved in the fight.

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Parents told Channel 11 the man was upset that his son allegedly inhaled some of the pepper spray.

"I am the girl at first fighting the other girl and the man pushes us apart and turns around and pushes her thinking it's me," said Kassie Shaffer, one of the girls in the video.

"So he was highly upset, but I was trying to figure out where his place in putting his hands on these children," said Latosha Williams, mother of one of the girls involved in the fight.

Some of the girls Channel 11 spoke with said it was self-defense for their friend.

"She defends herself and we help her defend herself against a grown man," Shaffer said.

You can also hear "he has a gun" in the video.

Several people said they saw a gun on the man's waist and said he reached for it. We watched the video several times and couldn't see the man reach for a gun.

Nonetheless, parents said they aren't happy with the way the man reacted.

"It's OK to try to break a fight up, but it's the way you go about it. He got them apart and once he got them apart, there should've been more initiative on his end to deescalate the situation," said Andrew Williams.

Cox Media Group