Teenager stabbed during boardwalk fight in Ocean City, New Jersey

OCEAN CITY, NJ (CBS) — A 15-year-old boy was stabbed while on the boardwalk Saturday evening in Ocean City, New Jersey, police said Sunday.

According to Sgt. Dan Lancaster of the OCPD, a fight broke out on the 1000 block of the Parkway just before 9:15 p.m. on May 25. During the fight, the teen was stabbed by an “unknown” male suspect, police said.

The teen was treated at the scene by first responders and then taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. Police said the 15-year-old's injuries were not life-threatening.

“As in recent years and in other coastal cities, Ocean City has experienced a number of problems related to large crowds of teenagers on the boardwalk, fights, shoplifting and disorderly behavior at the start of Memorial Day weekend,” said Ocean City Mayor Jay A. Gillian. said in a statement. “I understand the impact this behavior has on all of our residents, guests and business owners, and I want to assure everyone that Ocean City will not tolerate it.”

Although police did not say whether anyone had been taken into custody in connection with the stabbing, Gillian said officers made “several arrests” and “were able to quickly restore order on the promenade once the teenagers involved in these incidents had been removed.”

Gillian ended her statement with a clear warning to parents and teenagers: “If you don’t want to behave, don’t come.”

Videos of a fight involving a group of youths and crowds running frantically off the boardwalk began circulating online after Saturday night's incident.

A mother was waiting for her daughter and her daughter's friend when chaos broke out.

“All these kids started running, literally trampling over older adults, kids — it didn't matter, they were running through everyone,” Melissa said.

Trey Gibson said he was two blocks away when he saw people start running.

“I just heard a whole bunch of screaming, a lot of running,” Gibson said. “It was really chaotic, quite scary in my opinion.”

Ocean City has a curfew from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. for persons under 18 who are not accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the OCPD Detective Bureau at (609) 525-9129.