Large-scale street carnivals are common occurrences in many parts of the world, such as Latin America, Europe, and many others. However, unorganised fun and music involving young people doesn’t really meld with the American paranoia and suspicion mentality, and so police are usually called when things get a little rowdy, as was the case with a group of teens spilling out of the New Jersey Carnival.
What the media is describing as an ‘Unruly Horde’ actually only amounted to about 300 teens at the Woodbridge Center Carnival in New Jersey. Considering thousands of people will show up there every day, it’s really not that many.
However, the people of Woodbridge live in fear of their teenage population. As the young people gathered to enjoy the day, tensions among onlookers grew. The teens were reaching unprecedented numbers, and New Jersey was now in the grip of these unarmed, fun-loving youths.
At around 9 pm, which is way past any 16-year-old’s bedtime, according to residents of Woodbridge, the number of teens peaked. They had apparently been ‘rallied‘ by a TikTok, and it was time to call in the armed police.
According to the Woodbridge Carnival in New Jersey, anyone under 18 needs to be accompanied by an adult. Despite their draconian rules for the ‘fun day out’, the under-18s were there without parental supervision. Anything could happen.
New Jersey Woodbridge Carnival Terrorised By Free Range Teens
The teens, having fun and messing about, struck fear into the hearts of the New Jersey Woodbridge citizens. Their parentless antics demanded the need for local police, who quickly came in to break up the crowds. The unarmed kids had become a crowd and were making too much noise.
Despite nothing being broken, nobody being robbed, and no weapons being seen, the local police had to call in five neighbouring departments to deal with the crowd of children. Their embarrassingly ineffective show of force simply spread the group of teenagers to a local mall in a panic.
@pericofeen menlo part2 @ Woodbridge 🤣🤣 #nj #fair #woodbridgefair #woodbridge
♬ Shark (feat. Rio Da Yung Og) – Jorjiana
The kids, trying to stay away from the police, moved through the mall. Ashen-faced and shaking, many of the local store owners shuttered their shops against the teens, driven into a froth by their TikTok hive mind call to war.
Footage from the scene shows groups of teenagers enjoying the carnival and each other’s company. But that’s not the way you’re supposed to live in the US.