A teenager was arrested in connection to a stabbing that took place on the Ocean City boardwalk during a chaotic Memorial Day weekend at the Jersey Shore.
On Saturday, May 25, around 9:15 p.m., police received a 911 call reporting an assault at the Ocean City Boardwalk. Investigators said there was a large fight between a group of teens that led to a 15-year-old boy being stabbed in the abdomen. The teen was taken to the hospital and treated for his injuries.
The Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and Ocean City Police interviewed witnesses, reviewed surveillance footage and were able to identify a teen suspect in the stabbing. On Tuesday, June 4, investigators – with help from Hamilton Township Police and Pleasantville Police – located the suspect and arrested the teen in Pleasantville, New Jersey, officials said.
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The teen is charged as a juvenile delinquent with attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and possession of a weapon. The teen is lodged in the Juvenile Delinquent Facility pending court proceedings. Officials have not identified the teen since the suspect is a juvenile.
Police and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office continue to investigate the incident. If you have any information on the fight or stabbing, call the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135. You can also send an anonymous tip on the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office website.
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The incident was one of at least four separate fights that broke out on the Ocean City Boardwalk over Memorial Day weekend, leading to more than 20 arrests. NBC10 obtained video of some of the brawls, including footage of teenagers fleeing from the fight as well as teens running toward the brawl as families are caught in the middle of the chaos.
Rowdy behavior was also reported in Wildwood and Seaside Heights over the holiday weekend.
On Friday, May 31, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said that Wildwood didn't have enough officers assigned to the boardwalk, when officials said disturbances on May 26 prompted the overnight boardwalk closure and calls for assistance from neighboring police departments.
Wildwood's police chief, Joseph Murphy, and the department issued a statement on June 1 calling Platkin's assertion “inaccurate and ill-informed.” They said the department had more than 30 uniformed officers assigned to the boardwalk, more than in the past two years, but disturbances involving hundreds or even thousands of young people over Memorial Day weekend despite the addition of even more officers, prompting an emergency declaration.
