Two additional juveniles have been charged in a fight that apparently started in a Hamilton Township neighborhood and ended with a riot that closed the Hamilton Mall.
The June 2 incident seems to have started in the area of Primrose Court, township police said Thursday.
Seven people were arrested in what police have categorized as a riot, closing the mall an hour early and sending patrons running.
“The incident at the Hamilton Mall on June 2nd involving unsupervised teenagers was a situation that is unacceptable in our community,” Police Chief Stacy Tappeiner said. “Law-abiding storeowners, store employees, families and security personnel were all put at risk by teenagers engaged in criminal conduct.”
Tappeiner said parents and guardians have “a legal responsibility to know where our children are and what they are doing. Parents and guardians should not be dropping off their children unsupervised at retail shopping centers, nor should they allow children to take transit buses to shopping centers unsupervised."
The investigation so far has led to charges against two additional teens — 15-year-olds from Atlantic City and Mays Landing. They are each charged with disorderly conduct, participating in a riot and criminal mischief.
The seven other teens who were previously — including two 18-year-olds charged as adults — now have additional charges of participating in a riot and criminal mischief.
The investigation is still ongoing, and any person who is identified as being involved in either the Primrose Court or the Hamilton Mall incidents will be charged accordingly, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Township of Hamilton Police Department at 609-625-2700, ext. 1.
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