Haunted hayride in New Jersey closes after brawl as about 200 teenagers flood ride

The chaos spilled onto the streets of Collingswood, where multiple incidents of violence were reported, authorities said

Things went awry over the weekend in New Jersey when a crowd of hundreds of juveniles broke out in a brawl, disrupting a Halloween attraction and forcing organizers to shut it down early, police said.

On Saturday, Oct. 19, multiple vehicles dropped off “approximately 200+ minors” at a haunted attraction at Knight Park in the Collingswood neighborhood, according to Collingswood Police Department.

Authorities said the event was “quickly disrupted by fights, mainly between young people in attendance, and unruly behaviour”.

Fighting between the participants broke out around 8:20 p.m. local time, according to the Collingswood Police Department. Duty officers quickly arrived at the scene of the incident and “worked” them to dispersal. Additional police bodies were involved “due to the instability of the situation.”

For footage provided to local ABC affiliate WPVIapparent teenagers on the haunted Hayride were filmed getting into physical altercations with each other and throwing punches while surrounded by other children.

“We heard screams and a bunch of cops running and saying, ‘Get out of the way.’ And after that, we were wondering what was going on, and we heard something like a fight,” 11-year-old Mason Royce told the publication from the scene.

related: 13-year-old boy dies in Haunted Hayride crash just 24 hours after child dies in similar incident in another state

Officials ultimately made the decision to close the hayride to safely manage the crowd and “ensure the safety of those in attendance.” Together with the organizers of the event, the police were able to “safely lead the families away from the chaos, while addressing and dispersing the people involved in the quarrels.”

While dispersing the crowd at the park, police were called to another incident involving 50 to 70 kids who were allegedly “taking over” a nearby Wawa store on Haddon Avenue, “stealing items and causing a disturbance.” According to officials, the store was closed after that.

While at Wawa, authorities were also alerted to a scene on Browning Road involving “approximately 80 juveniles (who) were involved in a mass fight.” Police allegedly “met resistance from youths who punched, kicked and pushed past officers to continue the fight,” as some children fled through nearby yards before the crowd was dispersed.

According to WPVI, Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley said that even with support from multiple agencies, authorities were “overwhelmed by the number of people and what was happening.”

According to the Collingswood Police Department’s latest Facebook statement, which was signed by Mayor Mayley and Police Chief Kevin Carey, no arrests were made at the scene of the fight and the incident remains under investigation.

After the fight, officials held a city forum Wednesday, where Carey told the crowd that police would review body camera footage, surveillance footage and information posted on social media, according to WPVI.

“It is our intention to identify as many people as possible,” he said. “And if the charges are warranted, the charges will be brought later. Our investigation is still ongoing, but the main priority at the time was to restore order and get people out of the area safely.”

According to the paper, no injuries were reported among those not involved in the fights, as Carey said there was “no interaction between the groups that showed up trying to fight the people who were haunted.”

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“Unfortunately, this is not the first incident of this nature in Camden County, but the Collingswood Police Department was able to handle this multi-location incident in the city while keeping everyone safe,” said the department’s Facebook post, which praised the “speed » officers. and a decisive answer. “During the last few months, preparations were made for holding public events, and we were able to avoid these problems. The county will review and revise plans for public events in light of this new mass trend.”

The Collingswood Police Department did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional information on Friday, Oct. 25.

On Facebook, Collingswood Haunted Hayride wrote after the event that “much of the evening was bigger than expected, but with feedback and awareness we will review and organize to set a course for next year”.

“We appreciate your support, and without it our event would not take place. Thank you on behalf of the Colls Haunted Hayride Committee .”

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Read the original article at People.