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St. Peter’s Episcopal Church’s yearly pumpkin patch is prone to smashings that occur every year. This October, the patch is receiving less animosity compared to other years.
When asked about the pumpkin smashing in present and previous years, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church did not wish to comment on the occurrence.
Oxford Police Department tweeted pictures of wrecked pumpkins in the street with the caption, “Stealing and destroying pumpkins from a church fundraiser is not cool.” The tweet had a photo of the pumpkins attached to it.
Sergeant Ben Hamilton attributes the decrease to the presence of a police unit on the Square during the weekends.
“Our downtown units have really grown, and it’s been a very bigger presence in the last year,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton reported that they had not had any problems with the pumpkin patch until this past weekend, as several of the pumpkins were destroyed in the street.
The amount of foot traffic has remained the same around the pumpkin patch, but the amount of people who have stopped to destroy or steal them has lowered.
Apart from the downtown unit keeping an eye on the nightlife in the Square, they keep constant attention on the church lawn to make sure no passerby is harming the patch.
“There’s always more police presence around the Square, but our downtown unit that’s their area, so they work there every weekend,” Hamilton said.
In past years, there have been multiple arrests for offenses against the fundraiser, but the recent pumpkin smashing has not had any suspects identified.
OPD will continue to watch the pumpkin patch and deter any violence against the fundraiser.
