Gloucester Township juvenile chaos: Suspect wanted for throwing punches at officer, eluding arrest
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Gloucester Township officials vowed more arrests were coming after a family event descended into a night of chaos, and now they have identified their first suspect.
Several violent fights erupted at Gloucester Township Day last weekend when police say more than 500 juveniles and young adults were dropped off at a local park.
While dispersing the crowd to clear the park safely, the unruly crowd was caught sparking even more fights on video in a nearby shopping center.
Twelve arrests were made that night, including 10 juveniles - one as young as 13-years-old. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.
Gloucester Township officials to make more arrests after ‘unruly’ juveniles spark violent fights
Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins announced plans to make additional arrests after "unruly" juveniles sparked violent fights during Gloucester Township Day on Saturday night.
On Wednesday, a photo of "Suspect 001" was released by police, who say he was identified a day later. His name has not been released due to his age.
Police say he was pepper sprayed after trying to punch an officer who gave him verbal commands to leave.
He eluded officers by fleeing on foot into the large crowd.
"This suspect is one of many we'll be featuring in the upcoming weeks," police said as they urged anyone with information to contact the department.