Social media forces early closure of Middlesex County carnival

🔴 The Middlesex Borough Fire Department Carnival closed early Friday and Saturday

🔴 "Unprecedented crowds" were blamed by police Friday

🔴 Police said they learned the same crowds were expected Saturday

MIDDLESEX BOROUGH — Police say "unprecedented crowds" forced the early closure of the fire department carnival on Friday and Saturday.

The carnival was shut down Friday around 8:35 p.m. because of an "overwhelming volume of people" waiting to enter the carnival at Middlesex High School, which posed a threat to public safety, according to a statement from Police Chief Matthew Geist. The chief said that "intelligence received through social media outlets" indicated the situation was going to repeat itself on Saturday.

"The infrastructure of the carnival grounds, availability of parking, and the impact on safety and security that beyond-capacity crowds impose on available police resources were key factors in the decision to close," Geist said in a statement.

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Bragging about closing the fair

Geist did not disclose the social media outlet monitored for information about the carnival.

An Instagram account posted two images on Saturday related to the fair. One called for "The Carnival Linkup Part 2" on Saturday. The second was captioned "POV: Your(sic) the reason why Middlesex carnival for shut down"  while a male wearing headphones a and sunglasses danced.

The carnival opened April 22 and was scheduled to close on Saturday. According to a News 12 report the carnival has been operating for over 30 years and is the volunteer fire department's biggest fundraiser of the year.

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