Hundreds of teenagers shut down a New Jersey carnival after a TikTok meetup spun out of control and spread into a nearby mall, mirroring a similar teen rendezvous at another local mall that injured a cop last week.
The Woodbridge Police Department responded to an unruly horde of approximately 300 youths gathered at the Woodbridge Center Carnival around 9 p.m. Saturday, according to RLS Media.
The teens were supposedly rallied by a series of TikTok posts calling for an impromptu linkup at the carnival.
The carnival required anyone under the age of 18 be accompanied by a parent or guardian. All adult attendees were also required to show valid identification to be permitted entry, according to the carnival website.
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.
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