Hundreds of party-goers turned up at a Mississauga residence on Friday night, only to be met by an unhappy mother and, later, police.
What was supposed to be a birthday party, attended by some 15 to 20 people, for an area teen somehow ballooned on social media and ended up drawing hundreds of young people to Cottonwood Court from as far away as Burlington, Hamilton, Richmond Hill and Milton.
“I look down the street and there’s a whole bunch of kids coming down the street — hundreds of kids,” the boy’s mom, who did not give her name, told CBC News.
The party had been cancelled at her behest when the invitation list grew to 40. But by that time word had spread online under the hashtag #ProjectXHouseParty.
Hundreds were turned away, eventually by Peel Regional Police who were called in to deal with the crowd.
Four police cruisers were at one point stationed on the normally quiet, residential street, according to Peel Regional Police Const. George Tudos. The crowd was well-behaved, but disappointed.
“Everybody was just obviously coming to have a good time,” said Tudos. “However they were misinformed.”
Police used the same hashtag to tell people the party was off, though some were still driving by, to check things out, by 2:30 a.m.