Man Stabbed, Over 100 Involved In Brawl At Forked River House

by Daniel Nee

By Daniel Nee

Police are seeking help from the public as they try to piece together the circumstances surrounding a stabbing that occurred over the weekend at the Forked River House bar.

The stabbing happened just after 2 a.m. Sunday morning during a "large brawl that extended from inside the building out into the parking lot," police said in a statement.

Saul Garcia, 21, of Whitesville Road in Jackson – formerly of Lakewood – was stabbed through the forearm with a large knife and lacerated up toward the elbow, said Chief David A. Paprota.

Garcia was initially transported to Community Medical Center, then flown to the trauma center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

Police received an initial 9-1-1 call about the brawl at 2:21 a.m. from a female, and officers arrived to find "well over 100 people engaged in fighting and aggressive behavior" in the parking lot, said Paprota.

Lacey cops received backup from Berkeley and Ocean townships, and as officers struggled to control the "hostile" crowd, said Paprota, they learned of a stabbing victim who was incapacitated inside the building.

"The amount of blood and damage at the scene was indicative of injuries well beyond the stabbing victim within the establishment," said Paprota, who added that officers rendered aid to the victim inside as the fighting continued outside.

Later, police would find out that another man, Jose Garcia, 24, of Whitesville Road in Jackson, had arrived at the Community Medical Center emergency room for treatment of "significant injuries to his face and jaw due to the fight at the Forked River House," said Paprota.

"Blood was present throughout the establishment as well as outside the building consistent with multiple persons sustaining significant injuries, yet at this time, only the two aforementioned victims have been identified," the statement from police said.

Jose Garcia was eventually released from Community Medical Center; Saul Garcia remains at Jersey Shore, said Paprota.

The Lacey Township Police Department is asking that anyone with information regarding the incident contact Detective Brian Flynn at 609-693-6636, ext. 2593 or leave a detailed, anonymous crime tip through the police department's website at www.laceypd.org/crime-tip/.