This holiday event went smoothly the past two years, but this year was different.  On Saturday March 27th, the day before Easter, the PEZ company hosted their third annual Easter egg hunt, which quickly turned ugly.

This year, there were more attendees than the company had expected.  The egg hunt was divided into three age groups with the oldest children being twelve.  Each age group occupied its own field.

There were scheduled to be staggered start times for the different age groups, but parents began rushing the field before the children even got a chance. Many children were very shaken by the chaos, and some were even physically injured by being pushed and shoved by the mob of parents.

One boy recounts how an adult pushed him over and took his eggs, breaking his basket in the process. “Somebody pushed me over and take my eggs and it’s very rude of them and they broke my bucket,” 4-year-old Vincent Welch told NBC Connecticut.

The displeased took to social media to express their displeasure with this event and claimed that the event was “poorly planned,” according to the Washington Post.  Some believe that the PEZ company is to blame for what happened, but others believe that the company should not be blamed for the behavior of the adults.

According to the Washington Post, one Facebook user stated that “for people to blame PEZ for participants’ poor behavior is ridiculous and in the same mind as the spoiled adults who ruined the event for civilized people who came to enjoy the holiday — including PEZ and their employees who were away from family on the holiday to provide a nice experience for others.”

PEZ abruptly ended the event when it began to get out of control.  Afterward, their employees gave candy to the children who were cheated of an enjoyable experience.  In addition to candy, the employees distributed coupons at the entrance in an attempt to make amends for the unfortunate turn of events.

They also sent out a public apology. According to CT Conservative Tribune, the apology stated, “We would like to sincerely apologize to each of our guests. This was not something created to frustrate or make people angry. We only wanted to do good for the local community.”