KEENE, N.H. — Police in Keene, New Hampshire, are setting up a task force to investigate violent disturbances near the city’s annual pumpkin festival that led to property damage, dozens of arrests and many injuries over the weekend.
The city announced the group before a scheduled news conference Monday afternoon to discuss the violence, which prompted police trying to control the crowds to don riot gear and use tear gas.
The parties around Keene State University coincided with the Keene Pumpkin Festival, at which the community tries to set a world record of the largest number of carved and lighted jack-o’-lanterns in one place.
Gov. Maggie Hassan called on the state’s colleges and universities to “take swift action to hold students involved accountable.”
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