NEWARK – Three people returning from a huge party in Point Pleasant Beach were killed in a crash on Route 22, it was reported.
During one of Gov. Phil Murphy’s daily press conferences, he noted the deaths of the three individuals and how they were on their way home from a gathering in Point Beach.
They were apparently part of a crowd of about 1,000 people that had descended on the beach on June 9, police reported. Some arrests were made at the scene for drugs.
The gathering was still under investigation, as authorities were trying to determine who organized the event.
The large crowd were seen in social media videos as gathering around the shore near areas of Jenkinson’s Boardwalk and Martell’s.
Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra noted that police responded as those who were on the beach were not social distancing as required by Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order.
Borough Police Chief Joseph A. Michigan described the scene in a press release stating, “the crowd grew by the hour and mostly appeared to be young adults. They were engaging in unlawful activity and threatened the quality of life of the community. Due to the size of the crowds which was estimated to be in the thousands the Point Pleasant Beach Police Dept. sought mutual aid from area police departments and agencies.”
The chief noted that police took up positions to every entranceway to the beach and stood by to ensure the crowd was orderly to maintain the safety of residents and other visitors to the borough.
“The police department does not condone this type of unlawful activity and we are pleased to report that no major incidents of damage to property, or business resulted from the actions of the crowd,” Chief Michigan said.
He added there is an investigation as to who “may be responsible for organizing the beach party event. I am extremely proud of the efforts and actions of my officers and those who responded here to assist in maintaining order.”
There were rumors that a rap artist who may have been making an appearance at the borough beach and that the unknown organizer used social media to promote the beach party and may have charged some form of admission.
Videos of the scene showed no evidence that the gathering was a protest of any kind, backing up the idea that it was some type of event organized through social media that led to a large number of people gathering all at once.
Such videos also showed garbage and debris on the beach and that is something that the mayor said he would not tolerate. He posted a video on his own page showing the aftermath of the beach assembly trashing the area.
Saying he did not like seeing the borough’s greatest resource “treated like an absolute toilet” he noted that the trash left behind by the unexpected party was not acceptable and that the borough’s beach should not be treated as a dumping ground.
Residents and borough employees cleaned the beach according to the mayor who also reported that he’s received inquiries from residents linking the party to observations of visitors smoking marijuana, drinking and urinating in public as well as changing in the front of people’s homes during the June 9 incident.
Two years ago, a similar flash mob took place in nearby Seaside Heights, leading the borough to investigate whether organizers could be held financially responsible for its police response.
-Bob Vosseller contributed to this report
