Handcuffs (Shorebeat File Photo/ banspy/ Flickr)
A Brick juvenile is facing a number of criminal charges following an incident at Angela Hibbard Park on Tuesday that sent bystanders fleeing and police rushing to the scene.
Brick Township police officers were called to Angela Hibbard Park Tuesday in response to a 911 caller reported a suspect reaching into his backpack acting like he had a gun. An investigation by responding officers determined that a juvenile, whose name was not divulged by authorities, had approached a victim at the park and “forcefully grabbed property from the victim,” according to a statement from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
While the theft was underway, prosecutors say the juvenile was confronted by a bystander in the park in an attempt to prevent the juvenile from leaving with the victim’s property. The juvenile is then alleged to have pushed that bystander, and when another individual attempted to intervene, threatened to shoot the individuals in the immediate area – reaching inside the backpack while holding what was identified as a “black object.”
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“Several people began to flee and take cover, and the juvenile subsequently fled on foot,” the statement said.
Responding officers engaged in a foot pursuit with the juvenile, who was ultimately taken into custody. An imitation firearm and a machete were recovered at the scene. The juvenile is currently being detained in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center.
The prosecutor’s office said the name of the suspect is being withheld in compliance with state law, which precludes its ability to publicly name the person because they are under 18.
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