COLLINGSWOOD, N.J. — A chaotic scene unfolded last weekend as hundreds of teenagers caused significant disruption during a haunted hayride fundraising event. This occurred in a Philadelphia suburb, where the festivities were overtaken by unruly behavior, including vandalism, theft at a local convenience store, and extensive fighting in residential areas.
Collingswood’s local authorities have stated that they will assess and modify their plans for future public events in light of this alarming trend of violence.
While no immediate arrests were reported following the confrontations that erupted in and around Knight Park and the thefts from the Wawa convenience store, investigations are still underway, according to officials from both the mayor’s office and the police department. Additionally, it remains unclear if there were any injuries stemming from the disturbances.
The chaos began Saturday evening when over 200 teens arrived at the park, many of them dropped off in large groups after 8 p.m. for the Halloween-themed event organized by the town’s parent-teacher association. The gathering quickly escalated into a melee, with participants engaging in fights, cutting lines, and recklessly running about the area.
In response to the escalating situation, local law enforcement chose to halt the event, bringing in assistance from nearby police departments to help manage the crowd. While dispersing the teenagers, a separate group of 50 to 70 individuals seized control of the nearby Wawa store, creating a ruckus and stealing merchandise. Authorities eventually cleared them from the premises, leading to the store’s closure for the evening.
Simultaneously, nearly 80 teenagers took part in what officials characterized as a significant brawl within a nearby residential neighborhood. The police moved in to disperse the fighters as well, trying to restore order to the area.