HOWELL TOWNSHIP, NJ. (THECOUNT) — A man who used fireworks as part of his marriage proposal is now wishing he’d went a slightly more conventional route after the sound of the fireworks caused panic among moviegoers at a nearby theater. The moviegoers mistook the pops and bangs for gunshots.
The proposal mishap lead to a barrage of 911 calls and an evacuation, authorities said.
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Howell Township police responded to the Xscape Theater around 6 p.m. Wednesday and soon learned the theater manager had confronted a man who had lighted fireworks outside another business near the theater, authorities said.
The remnants of the fireworks were located, and it was determined that no shots had been fired.
A 23-year-old Lakewood man told police he had set off the fireworks as part of his friend’s marriage proposal at the other business.
While noting there was no intent to cause panic at the theater, a post on the Howell police Facebook page stated that “obviously this was a very poor decision rather than an overt act,” reports StamfordAdvocate.
The Lakewood man was charged with a fireworks infraction and disorderly conduct.
Geo quick facts: Howell Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township’s population was 51,075, reflecting an increase of 2,172 from the 48,903 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 9,916 from the 38,987 counted in the 1990 Census – Wikipedia.