A crowd of people is seen the day of a pub crawl in Oshkosh April 11, 2026. (Photo courtesy Oshkosh Police Dept.)
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — When students at UW-Oshkosh hold pub crawls every April and October, the events draw crowds from across the state.
“It gets really crowded. There’s a lot of house parties,” said UWO freshman Gwen Stricker.
These pub crawls, which are unsanctioned by the city and university, are facing scrutiny after an uptick in violent disturbances in recent years.
The Oshkosh Police Department said it handled 65 calls for service during the latest pub crawl last month. Those calls ranged from commotions and noise complaints to property damage and operating while intoxicated offenses. However, there was also a shooting. 23-year-old Devon Price from Omro is accused of opening fire after being punched in the face during a group scuffle, but he allegedly shot the wrong person in the confusion, according to a criminal complaint. A 17-year-old was injured.
Law enforcement spent $44,000 to staff last month’s pub crawl weekend.
Chief Chris Tarmann with the UW-Oshkosh Police Department said this rise in violence is a concern for officers trying to keep students safe.
“You’re starting to see the presence of weapons at an event where you know there is a significant amount of drinking. Weapons and alcohol and other types of stuff doesn’t mix well,” he said. “So, we do what we just talked about. We have to increase our staffing, we have to use data to put people where we need them.”
UWO senior Landon Farley lives a few doors down from where the shooting happened. He said it changed the way he approaches pub crawl.
“It’s always going to be there in the back of your mind and everything like that. You might stay away from all the crowded places where you might find the under-agers and where there might be weapons and all that,” he said.
Stricker helped clean up with Greek Life after the celebration. She said the event is a problem that needs to be solved internally.
“It’s the students who really just need to make these informed decisions,” she said. “We really just need to educate the public and people who are not students who come to pub crawl to be safe. There will be consequences for your actions.”
Tarmann said police plan for the pub crawl events year-round.
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