A Pennsylvania woman was charged with making false reports after she admitted to police that she lied about a boy brandishing a gun at a Jersey Shore amusement pier, city police said Friday.
Taylor Erickson, 29, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was charged with second-degree counts of causing false public alarm and filing false reports with police in North Wildwood, police said in a Facebook post.
City police responded to the area of 25th Street and the beach for a report of a person brandishing a firearm who entered Morey’s Pier at 2501 Boardwalk Avenue on June 22, police said.
Erickson provided a detailed description of the juveniles and the gun she claimed to have scene the boy holding, police said.
The juveniles were located and interviewed and did not possess any firearms, according to police who said Morey’s Pier was also cleared by local and county authorities and immediately reopened once no threat to the public was discovered.
Will Morey, a Cape May County Commissioner and owner of Morey’s Pier amusement parks, told NJ Advance Media at the time of the incident the park was closed for about 45 minutes and approximately 750 people were evacuated as police searched the area.
Interviews with witnesses at the scene and a review of surveillance footage by police could not corroborate Erickson’s report, police said.
Erickson later confessed to filing a false report with police after a verbal altercation with the juveniles in a follow-up interview, police said.
She was issued summonses and released pending a court date.
Police did not disclose the age of the boys or the others in the group.
It was unclear whether Erickson had an attorney as of Saturday morning.
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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
