Officials in the New Jersey beach town of Wildwood closed the boardwalk early Monday morning and issued a state of emergency to address the “numerous incidents of civil unrest” stemming from young adults and juveniles.
Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, Commissioners of Public Safety Steve Mikulski and Krista McConnell, along with the Wildwood Police Department (WPD), issued a press release in which they revealed that they had received “an irrepressible number” of calls related to “young adults and juveniles” who were described as being “unruly” and “undisciplined.”
“Wildwood will not tolerate unruly, undisciplined, unparented children nor will we stand by while the laws of the state tie the hands of the police,” Troiano said in the statement. “We wholeheartedly support the City of Wildwood Police Department in protecting this community from these nuisance crowds on our boardwalk and in the city.”
Wildwood forced to close its boardwalk early today,“local disaster emergency declared. Due to the irrepressible number of calls for service related to extremely large number of young adults & juveniles,we were unable to respond to certain calls for service within period of time.” pic.twitter.com/oigWSeIYdA
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) May 27, 2024
Officials explained in the joint press release that the WPD responded to an “irrepressible number of calls for service in the City of Wildwood” on Saturday evening.
As a result, Wildwood officials sent out requests for help to several agencies located in Cape May County.
“Due to the high volume of calls, we were also unable to respond to certain calls for service within the city for a period of time,” officials added in the press release.
On Sunday, Chief Joseph Murphy advised city the commissioners and the emergency management coordinator for the City of Wildwood that there were “emergent conditions” stemming from the “civil unrest” on the boardwalk.
Based on the advisement, a “local disaster emergency was declared” early Monday morning:
Through the enactment of a state of emergency during the early morning hours of May 27, 2024, which included the closure of the boardwalk, the City of Wildwood was able to effectively address numerous incidents of civil unrest and ensure the safety and welfare of our residents and visitors.
A 15-year-old boy was reportedly stabbed by an unknown suspect on the boardwalk. The teenager was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.