A New Jersey carnival faced an unexpected closure when a TikTok-organized gathering of teens escalated and eventually spread into a nearby shopping mall. This incident mirrored a previous meetup at another local mall, which resulted in an injury to a police officer last week.
The Woodbridge Police Department was called to manage a disorderly crowd of around 300 teenagers who converged at the Woodbridge Center Carnival by approximately 9 p.m. on Saturday, as reported by RLS Media.
The teens were supposedly rallied by a series of TikTok posts calling for an impromptu linkup at the carnival.
The carnival had a policy requiring youth under 18 to be with a parent or guardian. Additionally, all adult visitors had to present valid identification to gain entry, as stated on the carnival’s official site.
But still, the crowd of youths at the carnival grew so unruly that Woodbridge police had to call on neighboring departments for backup, RLS reported.
Eventually, the chaos spread into the Woodbridge Center Mall, forcing many stores to lock up early and even shelter shoppers inside as the teens ran wild.
On Sunday, many of the carnival attendees posted video compilations of their time observing or participating in the havoc across Woodbridge.
“menlo first and now this wth,” one TikTok user commented.
“can we like, keep this in Jersey Gardens,” another added.
Some of the teenagers broke away from Woodbridge and started making their way towards the Menlo Park Mall in Edison — the site of the last hooligan meetup — on foot. Edison police turned up at the mall ahead of the group to ensure there were no repeats of last week’s brawl, according to the local outlet.
Last Saturday, similar posts about a gathering at the Menlo Park Mall sparked a massive mob that resulted in the arrest of seven minors from nearby towns, including Woodbridge. The Woodbridge Center Mall, where the carnival was hosted, is a mere 7.5 miles away from the Menlo Park Mall.
Edison Mayor Sam Joshi called for increased security and even a curfew at the Menlo Park Mall in the wake of last week’s melee — which left one cop with a fractured ankle. He hopes that the new regulations will be implemented in a few weeks, according to My Central Jersey.
Joshi also asserted that the parents should be held responsible for their children’s actions, especially since some trekked from nearly an hour away in the dead of night for the meetup.
“Parents need to be focused on their kids, making sure they are not causing this type of rowdiness in other towns,” he said.
It’s unclear if any participating youths were arrested following the carnival or if anyone was injured.
The Post reached out to the Woodbridge and Edison Police Departments for clarity.
