The New Year's Eve party at The Wharf was the location of a crime just after midnight. Orange Beach police responded to a reported stabbing on Wharf Parkway in the early morning hours early on New Year’s Day. Officers arrived at the scene around just after midnight and found an adult male victim with an apparent stab wound.

Witnesses at the scene provided statements that helped police identify Shamar Ezell O’Brien Porter, an adult male, as the suspect in the assault.

Police located Porter a short time later, and he was arrested and charged with second-degree assault. No word on motive.

The incident remains under investigation, and authorities have not provided further details.

In the aftermath of local and national events, there have been several precautions suggested which can enhance safety.

• Always go to ticketed events. The vast majority of large event incidents happen at un-ticketed events which tend to have less crowd control.
• Non-ticketed events are more likely to have over crowding. These events can lead to "crowd crush" which brings attendees to a particular spot during an event. In a crowd crush, you will start to feel pushed forward, often against your will, and this pushes others forward in a dangerous chain reaction.
• In an open space large event make sure every entry point has trained security personnel with metal wanding devices and doing pocket and purse searches. Even a small knife can cause havoc in a crowd.
• avoid areas likely to experience bottlenecks. Local authorities often plan how to spread crowds and avoid congestion, for example by setting up several celebration sites.