‘Game changer’: NJ town halts all future parades this year over security fears

✅ Parade canceled just 30 minutes before start after suspicious device discovered

✅ Officials halt all Keansburg parades over safety fears

✅ NJ police chief warn parades are “easy targets”

KEANSBURG — The wearin' of the green will have to wait until next year after one of the last St. Patrick's Day parades of the season was called off.

As New Jersey 101.5 previously reported, the 20th anniversary Keansburg parade was called off 30 minutes before step off following the discovery of a “suspicious device” near the parade route, according to Keansburg police Chief Sandra Burton. Mayor George Hoff called the incident a "game changer" in terms of security and said all parades in Keansburg have been canceled until it can be determined who is responsible for the device.

"We want to make sure we have all the details that we possibly can have to move forward for the safety of not only the participants but for those who will be coming out to watch," Hoff told NJ.com.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office is leading a joint investigation with members of the Keansburg Police Department, along with assistance from the FBI.

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Lots of work to secure parade route

Seaside Heights Police Chief Tommy Boyd found himself in a similar situation when the Semper Five Marine Corps Charity 5K in Seaside Park was rocked by an explosion in 2016. The event moved to Seaside Heights for the 2017 race.

Boyd says Keansburg will have a lot of work to do to fortify security along their parade routes, including the use of AI drones, K-9 dogs out early the morning of the parade, the removal of all mailbixes and the use of undercover officers. All mailboxes are also removed from the route. The chief says parades are a soft, easy target where a lot of people can get hurt, which terrorists are looking for.

"We turn everything upside down. We bolt everything down. We take trash cans away, because that's how the last time the guy put it in a trash can," Boyd said. "We locked the route down the night before. We have spotters up there. We have a lot of undercovers."

The next parade, the Memorial Day parade, is scheduled for May 29, according to the borough website.

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