The Montclair police have provided additional details about the chaotic situation last night in and around The Wellmont Theater, in which apparently drunk or drugged people were part of an "unruly" crowd of more than 2,500 that turned out for the Barstool Blackout Tour, a rave party by black light, and one woman was bitten in the leg during a fight.
STAFF PHOTO BY ADAM ANIK
Police flooded the vicinity of The Wellmont Theater last night and remained there for hours, attempting to disperse an enormous crowd of more than 2,000 people, several of who were seemingly intoxicated, after the mob had been turned away from the theater since a show there was cancelled.
According to Detective Lt. Scott Buehler, the wild scene included people who were trying to push their way to the front of the line, who fought with and spat on police officers, and a teenager who passed out and was being trampled by the out-of-control throng.
Police from Port Authority, New Jersey Transit, Montclair State University, and a host of neighboring municipalities responded to help the Montclair police deal with the mayhem, which led to 24 people being taken to hospitals.
The frenzy started simmering when Montclair officers responded to the theater at about 7:35 p.m. Thursday, March 29, on a "report of a very large crowd," and security guards told officers that the event had sold out, according to Buehler.
While monitoring the multitude, police had dispatch notify surrounding agencies that mutual aid may be needed due to the large number of people, which had become unruly while waiting to get inside the theater.
Police also noticed that that a number of people in line were stumbling or having trouble standing up, appearing to be either intoxicated or high, authorities said. Several individuals were taken to ambulances that were staged nearby and transported to the hospital for treatment.
At one point, police were approached by a 22-year-old woman from Bedminster who had been bitten on the calf by an unidentified individual during an altercation, Buehler stated. She was checked by medical personnel and released.
In another incident, police were informed by a woman that her friend had passed out, and officers struggled through the crowd and located an intoxicated 19-year-old woman from South Amboy who was unconscious, against a fence near the theatre. The crowd was pressed against her and stepping on her. Police managed to carry the woman to an ambulance and she was transported to Mountainside Hospital.
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MPD: Pandemonium outside Wellmont included fighting, biting and trampling; 24 taken to hospital