PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pennsylvania - Gobbler's Knob was the scene of winter doldrums turned to violence after it was announced that Punxsutawney Phil had seen his shadow. Legend has it that a groundhog seeing his shadow on February 2nd foretells six more weeks of winter. Demands for the animal were shouted loud by members of the unruly mob, heady from the night's revelries. Phil was not injured in the incident.

"They were shouting, 'Give us the hog! Give us the hog!' like a pack of crazed.. crazed.. hog-eaters or something," said one observer, still clearly shaken from the ordeal. Actor Bill Murray was whisked away by his bodyguards as the crowd started to turn ugly. Murray has attended the festivities annually since starring in the movie Groundhog Day. "I have the utmost respect for the people of Punxsutawney and for Phil," he said in a statement issued through his agent, "and I regret very much having seen this noble gathering besmirched by the behavior of a few miscreants."

Several people are in custody, police have said, and other persons of interest are being sought out and interviewed. No one was seriously injured, but property damage has been estimated at $150,000, the most outstanding of which is graffiti sprayed on the century-old courthouse walls stating, "DIE GROUNDHOG, DIE!!"

Other Groundhog Day celebrations across the country were unaffected. "I'll tell you why folks rebelled against Phil," said Charlie Evers, handler for Buckeye Chuck, Ohio's official groundhog, "it's because he's so negative. He's like 85% shadow, 15% no shadow. Folks won't put up with that. Chuck keeps it pretty even. It's not about weather, it's about people. Chuck gets it, Phil doesn't."
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