Cops arrest 5 teens for NJ mall brawl, 14-year-old boy stabbed

🔪 A 14-year-old boy was hospitalized with a stab wound on Saturday

🔪 Police charged one 16-year-old with the stabbing and released him to his parents

🔪 Investigators arrested five juveniles total thanks to help from a nearby resident

WAYNE — A 16-year-old boy has been released after being charged with stabbing another teenager in the leg during a fight at Willowbrook Mall.

The brawl involving a large group of teens broke out near the food court entrance around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to Wayne police Det. Capt. Dan Daly.

Cops arrived at the mall to find a 14-year-old boy who had been stabbed in the thigh. He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and later released.

The officers at the scene learned that all of the teens involved, including the victim, were from Passaic. There had been an "on-going issue" between members of the group and Saturday's fight wasn't the first time they had come to blows, Daly said.

Investigators were informed that the rest of the group, including the stabbing suspect, had run off toward the nearby Cinemark movie theater. Numerous cops from several departments including the Wayne and Fairfield police and Passaic County Sheriff's Office.

They got a break in the search when a resident along Riverside Drive called in to report a group of juveniles hiding in a yard. Five teens had run past the theater in an attempt to get away.

Police got to the home and took the group into custody, including a 16-year-old who is accused of stabbing the 14-year-old boy.

The teen is charged with a juvenile complaint on two counts of aggravated assault and weapons offenses. He was released to his parents, according to Daly.

Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com

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