Rioting broke out among students and visitors at Keene State College this Saturday, just blocks away from the annual Pumpkin Festival, where families from all over the state brought 21,912 lit jack-o’-lanterns in an attempt to set a world record. Police in riot gear responded to intoxicated crowds in the street and on nearby properties.
Police officers made about 49 arrests and responded to 235 calls between 2:30 a.m. Friday and 3:30 a.m. Sunday, the Associated Press reported via New Hampshire Public Radio. Several people were taken to a local hospital, the Boston Globe reported.
“We are mindful that Keene State students played a part in this behavior and we intend to hold those individuals accountable for their actions,” Keene State College President Anne Huot wrote in a statement Saturday. “We deplore the actions of those whose only purpose was to cause mayhem. And we are grateful for the swift response of law enforcement and first responders who worked to minimize injuries and damage.”
Alex Moushey ’16, who planned to make a video at the festival, witnessed the rioting. Instead of leaving the festival as planned around 4:15 p.m., Moushey remained in Keene when riot police blocked off the street he was walking down. He pulled out his video camera to record the footage.
Intoxicated students filled the street, which was lined with off-campus student houses hosting parties for the festival weekend, Moushey said. People threw beer bottles and tore down roads signs. When the police arrived, he said, they started yelling for people to move off the street.
As the rioting continued, however, the police began shooting pepper spray paint balls into the crowd, attempting to move people off the pavement, Moushey said. Even when people cleared the street, he added, they continued to shoot into houses.
“I didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed like it was the world against the cops,” Moushey said. “That was the attitude of the group. Looking back at the video footage that I have, it’s extremely unclear what started it all, but it is clear that some people were doing some pretty irresponsible things in front of the cops.”
Although the rioters were a block away, he did not see them arrive at the festival, Moushey said, and by the time he left about a half hour later, the scene had calmed.
Kevin Mulquin ’14, a Keene resident who attended the festival, said he first became aware of the rioting around 4 p.m.
“It was shocking for sure,” Mulquin said, adding that the festival continued uninterrupted, and to him, others appeared to feel safe.
Later that evening, the disorder reignited, the Boston Globe reported Sunday. By the time police restored calm to the streets on Sunday morning, two dumpsters and at least one car had been overturned, street fires burned out and beer cans littered the streets.
In a second statement, Huot wrote that college officials are working to identifying rioters and hold them accountable for unlawful behavior.
“We are reviewing images, videos, media coverage, social media postings and information we have about off-campus residences,” she wrote. Serious offenders could face suspension or expulsion.
After he returned to Hanover, Moushey uploaded his footage to YouTube. The video had more than 14,000 views as of press time.
Since the riots, the Keene State College Facebook page has shared photos of student volunteers in red Keene gear helping clean damaged properties.
Many Keene residents were upset about the rioting, as many children attend the festival, Mulquin said.
“It’s one of the things that Keene is known for, so it was bad press that people were definitely not happy about,” Mulquin said.
The Keene fire department will hold a press conference Monday at 4 p.m.
Moushey is a member of The Dartmouth multimedia staff.
