New Jersey police spent nearly five hours breaking up house party of over 700 people

JACKSON, NJ — Police spent nearly five hours Sunday night and into early Monday breaking up a house party with more than 700 attendees, according to a statement from New Jersey's Jackson Police Department.

At around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Jackson police responded to the house on a report of a suspicious incident, according to the statement.

After speaking to neighborhood residents, police said eventually the crowd "grew to an estimate excess of 700 people with well over 100 vehicles parked in the area," according to the statement.

The owner of the house was contacted, and he told officers that he had "rented out the residence on Airbnb and was hosting a large party," according to the statement. As the crowd continued to grow, police said the homeowner left the area, as "200 additional people arrived at the residence and the party began to expand."

Word of the party grew on Instagram.

A flyer advertised on Instagram billed the event as a Liberian Independence Day party complete with a twerking contest and free food and jungle juice. Videos on Instagram show people dancing, drinking and smoking what appears to be hookah inside the mansion.

The homeowner, Yaakov Weiss, 40, of Jackson Township and two party organizers — Patience Guanue, 23 and Alicia Hinneh, 22, both of Newark, NJ — were issued summonses related to the party for violating Gov. Phil Murphy's executive order limiting the number of people who can gather in one place, according to a statement from the Jackson Police Department.

The party's organizers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As the crowd continued to grow, Jackson police began receiving 911 calls from other homeowners in the area reporting disturbances and trespassing, according to the statement.

To disperse the crowd, Jackson Police received help from Ocean County and police in surrounding towns, as well as the New Jersey State Police, according to the statement.

While clearing the area, police received a 911 call from a neighborhood resident who said people who had left the party had broken into their residence and were damaging property. But police said they determined it was a family member of the caller who had been at the original party and invited people back to his house. Police responded and cleared the house.

It took until approximately 1 a.m. for the officers to clear the residences of the party attendees and all of the vehicles from the neighborhood without any further incidents, according to the statement.

The investigation is continuing.

Follow Keith Schubert on Twitter at @keithsch94.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: New Jersey cops spent nearly 5 hours clearing party of 700 at Airbnb