TOMS RIVER – Rumors of a stabbing at the Ocean County Mall spread rapidly across social media on December 26, prompting concern among shoppers, residents and keyboard warriors, but authorities later confirmed the incident never occurred.
Multiple scanner and community pages reported an alleged stabbing inside the mall the day after Christmas, leading to speculation and heightened online chatter. However, those claims were unfounded.
According to a local resident who spoke with Jersey Shore Online, her husband, who works in mall security, confirmed the incident involved a brief altercation between two teenage girls. No weapons were involved, and no one was stabbed.
Jersey Shore Online spoke with Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy who also confirmed that there was no stabbing or anyone seriously injured. Mastrondardy said two women were involved in a fight and an employee of a store came out to see what was happening – a pair of scissors fell out of his pocket. The scissors were never used in the fight – but that could be what set off the alarm.
Emergency medical services and paramedics were dispatched as a precaution. Upon arrival, crews determined there were no injuries consistent with a stabbing and were quickly released from the scene. Township EMS was also canceled.
Mall operations continued without disruption.
Officials urged the public to rely on verified information and not jump to conclusions based on unconfirmed social media reports.
While some of the scanner pages have corrected the information and will be seeking out records to find out what happened and why the information was so inaccurate, some pages have left the incorrect information up, leading to more confusion and unnecessary worry.
