What Were Police Snipers Doing at a Pumpkin Festival?

To casual observers, the annual pumpkin festival in the small college town of Keene, New Hampshire, would seem like a harmless bit of seasonal fun. But to the local police, the event is apparently so threatening, it has to be monitored by military-style sniper units.

Photos and videos taken by partygoers at last weekend’s event—some of which were shot with the help of a private drone—show what appear to be teams of plainclothes officers stationed on rooftops, scanning the crowds below with binoculars and military-grade sniper rifles. The Keene Police Department refused to confirm whether it had dispatched the snipers or explain why the tactical units were necessary.