Police in Keene, New Hampshire were called to break up parties from Keene State College during the town's annual pumpkin festival. Saturday night parties at the college became unruly, and officials resorted to using forcem including tear gas, to disperse the crowds through Sunday morning.

The Keene Pumpkin Festival, or "Pumpkinfest," draws tens of thousands of people each fall to the small New Hampshire community. Last year's event displayed 30,581 carved and lit jack-o-lanterns at once in one place, setting a new world record.

On Keene State College's campus, Saturday night rowdiness turned excessive as thousands of visiting students poured in from surrounding universities like the University of New Hampshire, University of Massachusetts and the University of Rhode Island.

"Pumpkinfest has always been fun," Julie Conlon, 23 and a recent Keene State alumni, said to the Boston Globe. "Yeah, kids drink excessively, but it's never been out of control. This year I watched thousands of kids pile into a backyard and kind of go crazy."

One party in particular near Wilcox Street was overflowing with attendees in a backyard party that soon grew violent according to witnesses.

"There were about 4,000 kids in this backyard, and it almost felt like a war zone," Keene State sophomore Ellery Murray said. "People were just throwing everything they could find -- rocks, skateboards, buckets, pumpkins. It was actually kind of scary."

Conlon added that partygoers were also uprooting street signs, lighting things on fire and throwing bottles. Cars and dumpsters were overturned by large crowds.

Local police and fire departments, many in SWAT gear, responded to the scene.

"I watched cops roll in, I watched the fire department roll in, I watched state troopers roll in with their batons out, ready to take on the crowd," Conlon said. "It was crazy."

Police fired tear gas into the massive crowd, some of whom were throwing bottles and shouting profanities at the officers. When the group dispersed, small clusters of students gathered at the edge of the school's campus, where they were met with more police and more tear gas.

Keene Fire Department reported that several people were later taken to the local hospital.

"Pumpkin Fest on Main Street is really a beautiful event," Conlon, who was shocked the event went so awry, said. "I would bring my mother to Pumpkinfest on Main Street, but I wouldn't bring her to Pumpkinfest anywhere else. Keene State turns it into insanity."

Related