Police Fire Tear Gas In Pumpkin Festival Riot

Riot police fired tear gas and made dozens of arrests as a normally low-key pumpkin festival erupted in mayhem.

At least 30 people were injured during the disorder in Keene, New Hampshire. Twenty people were taken to hospitals, said officials. 

Police said at least 49 arrests were made in the commotion which began on Saturday night and lasted into the early hours of Sunday.

Riot police with debris on the ground before them

Footage from local TV showed people fleeing tear gas clouds, a crowd tuing over a car, street signs being to down and fires in the streets.

During the annual festival, the community tries to set a world record for the largest number of carved and lighted jack-o-lantes in one place. Organisers describe it on their website as a "family-friendly celebration".

Police blamed much of the trouble on partying students from Keene State College and out-of-town visitors.

The college president vowed the troublemakers would be held accountable

One student, Ellery Murray, told the Boston Globe she was at a party on Saturday that had drawn a large crowd when revellers began hurling missiles. 

"People were just throwing everything they could find - rocks, skateboards, buckets, pumpkins," she said. "People just got too drunk."

New Hampshire Goveor Maggie Hassan said state and local safety officials worked to defuse what she called "the situation".

The riot triggered an online debate about "white privilege"

College President Anne Huot said in an emailed statement that the festival had been promoted by others "as a destination for destructive and raucous behavior".

"We deplore the actions of those whose only purpose was to cause mayhem," she said, vowing that the students involved would be held accountable.

The chaos was one of the top trending terms on Twitter under the hashtag #pumpkinfest, where many debated "white privilege".

Organisers describe it on their website as "family-friendly celebration"

Reaction to the event was contrasted with that to riots after police shot dead a black teenager in Missouri this summer.

One tweet said: "Did the media ask white leaders to denounce the white culture of violence?"

Keene was widely lampooned earlier this year after it took delivery of an armoured personnel carrier, citing the need to police such events as the pumpkin festival.

The acquisition was highlighted as another example of law enforcement militarisation, but the weekend's melee may leave police chiefs in the town feeling vindicated.