Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that at approximately 8:50 a.m., on September 11, 2023, the Seaside Heights Police Department received four phone calls indicating that two bombs were hidden at businesses on the Seaside Heights boardwalk. Additionally, the callers indicated that they had operatives armed with guns on the Seaside Heights boardwalk.
The Seaside Heights boardwalk was temporarily evacuated as law enforcement assessed the credibility of the threats, and utilized K-9’s to perform bomb searches. An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Homeland Security Squad, Seaside Heights Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, Ocean County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit, and Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, determined that the threats were not legitimate. At approximately 10:30 a.m., the boardwalk was reopened.
“Based on what we know now, these threats are swatting incidents. We will continue to investigate this incident with our local, State and Federal law enforcement partners,” concluded Prosecutor Billhimer.