Oshkosh’s biannual drinking event, known as Pub Crawl, turned violent for the second straight semester after a stabbing in the 800 block of Woodland Ave. Oct. 11.
UW Oshkosh sophomore Alyssa Kremer, whose yard was the scene of the stabbing, said she still hasn’t been informed as to what happened.
“I heard about [the stabbing] at 10:15 that night when I got home from work, and I was shocked because there were several police cars outside my house,” Kremer said. “When I got inside my house my roommate told me about what happened. I don’t really know anything about what happened other than my neighbor’s party spilled over to my yard and got out of hand. I do think students should be aware of what happened, especially considering it happened in my own backyard and I’m not even aware of what exactly happened.”
The Oshkosh Police Department has yet to provide details on the incident.
UWO senior Abby Dreger said that she felt at Pub Crawl safe during the day, but not at night.
“The night is when most fights broke out and the stabbing occurred which definitely causes fear about going out,” Dreger said. “There were a lot less cops than last semester. That was surprising due to how big the event is in Oshkosh. I was sad to hear about [the stabbing], but unfortunately, not surprised. Every year, an incident like this happens.”
Oshkosh police wrote 32 tickets for the fall 2024 Pub Crawl last weekend, 27 more than last spring’s Pub Crawl, which saw just five tickets handed out. Law enforcement gave just two warnings and arrested two individuals over the weekend, which is a decrease from the spring, when three people were taken into custody and three warnings were given.
Last spring, a 20-year-old man was arrested by OPD after firing 16 shots outside near campus April 13 during Pub Crawl. Nobody was injured, and the shooter was taken into custody for first degree recklessly endangering safety, felon in possession of a firearm, felony bail jumping, possession of THC second offense and possession of MDMA, second offense.
The Oshkosh police reported that they responded to over 50 calls last weekend that were directly attributed to Pub Crawl, with 27 of which were ordinance calls.
“The ordinance calls ranged from noise and underage drinking to public urination,” OPD Crime Analyst Melody Bragdon said in an email. “This number is also an approximate count as some calls may have just not had enough information to be connected to Pub Crawl. For example, there were multiple other warnings and contacts of people driving down streets the wrong way in this area at this time, but without indication they were involved in Pub Crawl, they can’t be included in the count.”
During Pub Crawl, OPD received three calls for noise complaints, two drug-related calls, two calls for an OWI, two calls for trespassing, two calls for damage to property, one call about a suspicious person and one call for a weapons complaint.
Dreger said that she had a fun Pub Crawl, despite the stabbing, but too many random people came to her day party (also known as a darty) and started causing trouble.
“They puked on my roommate’s new car, broke our chairs and broke other things,” Dreger said. “Going to the bars and having a darty with friends and neighbors we knew was a great time. I will be attending [Pub Crawl] in the spring. Hopefully, people can be respectful and just have fun like the event is intended to be.”
