A large crowd of teenagers descended on the Woodbridge Center carnival and mall Saturday night after a TikTok event gained traction online. The gathering quickly got out of control, forcing police from Woodbridge and nearby towns to intervene.
Around 9 p.m., roughly 300 teens showed up at the outdoor carnival. The crowd’s behavior became disruptive, and organizers stopped letting people into the event by early evening. After fights broke out, many teens moved into the mall.
Inside the mall, stores shut their doors to protect staff and customers. Several shoppers took shelter as the crowd ran through the parking lot and hallways. Police from five surrounding towns joined Woodbridge officers to control the situation.
By about 10 p.m., authorities had dispersed the crowd. Several individuals were detained during the incident, though exact numbers have not been released.
This is the second weekend in a row that police in Middlesex County have dealt with large, unruly groups of teens gathering after viral TikTok posts. On May 17, a similar event at Menlo Park Mall in Edison involved about 300 youths. The situation escalated into a brawl, leading to multiple arrests and requiring help from nine police departments. An officer was injured during that incident.
Such events show how quickly social media can bring together large groups without official permission or planning. Similar TikTok-driven gatherings have caused chaos in other states, including New York and Virginia.
Woodbridge officials have not commented on Saturday’s events.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.