Car Stolen, 6 Arrested In Long Branch Pop-Up Party At Pier Village

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Six people were arrested and a car was stolen as hundreds of teens and young people gathered at Pier Village Tuesday night for a pop-up party that was organized on social media.

The unauthorized pop-up party drew several hundred teenagers and young adults to the beachfront, said Long Branch business administrator/public safety director Charles Shirley. A substantial portion of the crowd arrived by train, he said.

Subscribe

This Facebook post shows dozens of young people gathered at Pier Village and then, for reasons that are unknown, the crowd started running.

"The event quickly deteriorated into fights, individuals jumping on parked vehicles and disorder along the boardwalk and surrounding streets," said Shirley.

A total of six people were arrested: Two women, ages 19 and 20, both of Newark, were charged with disorderly conduct. Three juvenile teen girls, also of Newark, were charged with disorderly conduct. A teen boy from New Brunswick was charged with eluding (running from) police.

Long Branch Police are also investigating multiple aggravated assaults, which they say are connected to the large crowd gathering, including an assault at 44 Centennial Drive, an aggravated assault at the Long Branch train station and a car stolen from 320 Third Avenue.

Other than teens jumping on cars and the car being stolen, no significant property damage was reported, said Shirley, meaning there was no vandalism and no stores had windows broken.

However, the sheer size of the crowd prompted Long Branch Police and the Monmouth County Sheriff to put an emergency 8 p.m. curfew in place. Officers cleared the Pier Village area by 9:15 p.m., said Shirley. Long Branch Police ultimately deployed a total of 139 officers to the beachfront, and 70 law enforcement officers were called in from the Monmouth County Sheriff's office and surrounding towns.

In this Facebook post, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden called Tuesday night's gathering of young people "a major incident."

Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner, and Long Branch Police say they are getting prepared for future pop-up parties. Jersey Shore towns have been battling the large crowds for several years now, and Wildwood already served two online party promoters cease-and-desist orders so far this May, Wildwood Police said.

"Pop-up gatherings of this nature have repeatedly disrupted Jersey Shore communities, and Long Branch is prepared to act,” said Shirley. "With Memorial Day weekend approaching, the Long Branch Police Department will maintain a strong, visible presence throughout the beachfront and downtown corridors ... Anyone who travels to Long Branch intending to engage in violence or disorder should expect to be arrested and prosecuted."