Police: TikTok 'meetup' leads to Menlo Park Mall brawl

Edison police say that led to chaos within the mall and a brawl.

Chris Keating

May 19, 2025, 9:14 PM

Updated 2 hr ago

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A single post on Tik Tok had 300 kids show up at the Menlo Park Mall on Saturday for a so-called “meetup.”
Edison police say that led to chaos within the mall and a brawl.
In all, seven juveniles were arrested, and officers from nine departments were needed to clear the mall.
On Monday, the mayor of Edison demanded changes by Simon Property Group, which owns the mall.
Mayor Sam Joshi told Simon Property Group to immediately add more surveillance cameras and hire more security.
He also lashed out at the parents of 300 teens who swarmed to the mall, many whom were likely driven to the mall by adults.
“What are the parents doing? Aren’t the parents aware that they’re traveling 40-45 minutes to cause a disturbance within Edison,” said Mayor Joshi.
Cellphone video shows teens running through the mall, fighting with each other and police officers making arrests.
Police say six teens were arrested for disorderly persons charge, as well as failure to disperse. One is charged with assaulting a police officer.
Edison Chief Tom Bryan says nine other police departments responded to the mall to help.
Some of the teens started fighting with police responding to help.
The mayor is also demanding that Simon Properties, add license plate readers to mall property to track cars and consider restrictions on teens.
For instance, at the Westfield Mall, teens under 18 have to be with an adult after 5 p.m. At the American Dream Mall, anyone under 16 has to be with an adult from 3 p.m. until close.
Edison police are also looking into possible charges for the TikToker who posted the original “meetup” at the mall.
Simon Properties has not responded to News 12 New Jersey’s request for a comment.
Police say there was no property damage.