Teens cause mayhem over holiday weekend in Margate

MARGATE, N.J. (WPVI) -- Things got heated down the shore over the Memorial Day weekend, but it's not the heat anyone wanted to see.

Police in Margate say hundreds of teens visiting the area showed up and caused problems.

"Probably about 300 kids circled around and there were probably about 10 kids inside fighting," Margate Police Captain Ken Bergeron said.

A video shows some of the chaos captured on a cell phone from someone in the crowd.

"They are throwing sand on the officers, one of the officers got hit with a Gatorade bottle. It is a scary situation because you don't know what is going to happen in there," Captain Bergeron said.

Margate Police say this scene on the beach is an isolated incident and tell Action News dealing with crowds over Memorial Day weekend is always a problem.

They say the culprits are from out of town, mainly the Cherry Hill and Philadelphia areas.

Their message is, if you come to the beach respect the beach.

"The past five years has been really bad with high school kids coming down, and I am not talking about kids that are graduating, but I am talking kids that are probably freshmen, juniors, and sophomores and even younger than that, probably 8th graders," Captain Bergeron said.

The crowds not only gather on the beach, but for some reason, a hot spot for the teens, on summer weekends is a Wawa along Washington Avenue.

Locals says it's a tradition.

"It is kids being kids. They are nothing but respectful. We call it the Margate nightclub. Boys go where the girls go and girls go where the boys go," said Anthony Catrambone, Manager of Tipsy Taco and Tequila Bar in Margate.

"I think it has been going on for many, many years. It is a very popular hangout. The ice cream place and then the Wawa for some reason, but I think it just got a little bit out of control. But its kids and it's the first weekend of the summer," Jeff Kaliner of Margate said.

Those we talked to say they don't mind the crowds because it brings business.

What they don't want to see is violence or out of control teenagers.

Some residents say parents should talk to their kids before letting them roam the area.

"It was disgraceful. They threw everything on the beach. When they walked away from the beach, the beach was filthy dirty. They were fighting with the police officers, there was no controlling them," Lenny Monroe of Margate said.

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