NEWARK — Two men were injured today after four teenagers assaulted them in separate "wilding" incidents at Weequahic Park, authorities said. The teens, who have not been identified, left their victims with bruises and cuts and threatened one of them with a knife, said Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura. Authorities have become increasingly concerned with "wilding" incidents, which take...
A map view of Weequahic Park in Newark, where two men were allegedly assaulted by four teens.NEWARK — Two men were injured today after four teenagers assaulted them in separate "wilding" incidents at Weequahic Park, authorities said.
The teens, who have not been identified, left their victims with bruises and cuts and threatened one of them with a knife, said Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura.
Authorities have become increasingly concerned with "wilding" incidents, which take place when teenagers gang up on victims for no apparent reason.
This past summer, two such incidents — in Old Bridge and in Summit — turned deadly, when the targeted victims died from the blows they received.
Yesterday, officers patrolling near Weequahic Golf Course received a report from the first victim, a 40-year-old Hillside man, Fontoura said.
The man said one of the teenagers showed off a knife and said, "You know what this is for if you say anything," the release said.
Within minutes, a second victim, a 48-year-old Middlesex man, said he had been beaten up as well and offered a similar description of the attackers.
The teens — three aged 17, one aged 16 — were arrested in the park a short time later and have been placed in the Essex County Youth Detention Facility, Fontoura said.
One of the 17-year-olds has been charged with witness tampering, possession of a weapon and assault, Fontoura said. The others have been charged with assault.