Police have arrested three teenage boys who they believe are responsible for gallon smashing pranks in Wildwood, NJ.
The trend, called “Gallon Smashing,” features pranksters walking into a store, grabbing two gallon jugs of liquid and then smashing them on the ground while pretending to slip and fall.
Investigators on Friday said the boys recorded the prank at a Walgreens in Wildwood on March 7. The video was posted on YouTube though it was removed shortly after a gallon smashing report aired on NBC10 News at 4 on Thursday.
Police suspect the teens are responsible for another gallon smashing prank at the CVS store across the street.
“It caused over $500 in damage to all the stuff they had for sale in the aisles,” said Roger Lillo of the Wildwood Police Department. “It caused a lot of cleanup.”
Bill Gregg of Wildwood Crest seemed to find the videos more confusing than funny when he watched them.
“They just like, did that out of nowhere?” he asked. “When I was a kid we didn’t do that. We ran through people’s yards and knocked on doors.”
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As the viral video prank continues to gain in popularity, police officers are worried it will eventually cause an innocent customer or employee to truly slip and fall.
Lillo says it wasn’t hard for them to figure out who the teens were.
“Once it hit YouTube people were basically running to us, trying to tell us who it was,” he said.
Middle Township Police are also investigating another gallon smashing incident at an ACME supermarket.
The teens were charged with criminal mischief.
