Police in riot gear clash with students at US pumpkin festival

At least 63 people have been arrested at a popular pumpkin festival in the US state of New Hampshire after clashes with police.

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At least 63 people have been arrested after police wearing riot gear clashed with hundreds of people in New Hampshire.

Hundreds of people were attending the annual Keene Pumpkin Festival, but violence erupted after a fire was set at the Keene State College near student houses.

When police wearing riot gear turned up, some people began hurling objects at them.

"There was a fire, and then tear gas got shot in our faces," said one student.

The riots follow a spate of disturbances in the area during the weekend, including one involving a large fight near an off-campus house earlier in the day.

Police were forced to fire pepper spray pellets to break up the dispute.

"It's ridiculous, this is not Pumpkin Fest... We're supposed to have a fun weekend and this is stupid," Keene State College Student, Chris Haughey said.

The New Hampshire Governor, Maggie Hassan, says she will continue to monitor the situation.

Hundreds of people descend on the town of Keene for the city's annual pumpkin festival, where the local community attempts to set a world record every year for the largest number of carved pumpkin jack-o-lanterns.

Social media users were quick to draw comparisons to the Ferguson riots, which were sparked after an unarmed teenager was shot dead by police.

Some criticised the media for 'whitewashing' the Keene riots and choosing milder language such as 'rowdy' to describe the event, in spite of widespread property damage and unrest. 




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