Teen charged with murder over Spirit Halloween store shooting in Fairfield, California
A 17-year-old faces two murder counts after a deadly shooting at a Spirit Halloween store in Fairfield left one woman dead and six others injured. Prosecutors are seeking to try him as an adult.
Suspect in Fairfield Halloween store attack faces adult trial bid
A 17-year-old from Suisun City has been charged with two counts of murder following a shooting inside a Spirit Halloween store at the Solano Town Center in Fairfield, California, latimes.com reports. Prosecutors are seeking to have him tried as an adult, citing the severity of the crimes and his prior criminal record.
The shooting took place at around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, 31 October, as families were shopping for last-minute Halloween supplies. According to Fairfield police, the suspect entered the store, spotted a customer he is believed to have targeted, and fired multiple rounds. Seven people were struck in total. The suspect fled within minutes, just as police officers arrived on scene.
Constance Hages, 31, who was pregnant, was killed. Six others were injured, with one person remaining in critical condition as of Sunday, Fairfield Police Department spokesperson Michelle Belyea confirmed at a press conference Monday.
Suspect identified through surveillance footage
Detectives identified the teenager within hours of the initial 911 call. A school resource officer with the Fairfield Police Department reviewed surveillance footage from the store and recognised the suspect as a former student. That information was passed to detectives, who arrested the boy at a Suisun City residence on Monday.
Police also confirmed that the teenager had previously been arrested, sentenced and released in connection with a separate shooting in a local high school car park in 2025, after school hours.
Charges and prosecution strategy
The Solano County district attorney's office filed the following charges on Tuesday: two counts of murder, with a multiple murder special circumstance; three counts of attempted murder; and three counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon. Multiple gun enhancements were also filed, and prosecutors noted the suspect had a prior conviction for a violent offence.
The district attorney's office said it would seek to have the suspect held without bail, citing "the seriousness of these crimes, the Minor's criminal record, and the threat to public safety."
The office additionally filed a petition to try the teen as an adult. Prosecutors stated that this step was partly necessitated by shifts in the legal framework governing the prosecution of minors over the past three decades. The office specifically pointed to Proposition 57 — a prison parole reform measure passed by California voters in 2016 and championed by then-Governor Jerry Brown — which requires prosecutors to obtain a judge's approval before most juveniles can be transferred to adult court.
The suspect was set to be arraigned in Juvenile Court on Wednesday.
Panic in the shopping centre
The attack triggered a large law enforcement response and scenes of panic at the Solano Town Center. Daniela Seabra Rios told latimes.com via text message that she and her son were waiting in a car in the adjacent car park when she witnessed a "sea of people running and screaming," among them many families.
She and her son took cover on the floor of their car and remained there until police secured the area.
Santa Rosa resident Chara Brazley said she received a panicked phone call from her 24-year-old daughter, who works at an Ulta Beauty outlet within the same shopping centre. Her daughter reported hearing several loud gunshots as staff were closing up for the night.
"Never experienced anything like this before," Brazley said of the incident, noting that her children had been visiting the mall for decades.
Investigation ongoing
The Fairfield Police Department said the arrest did not mark the end of its work. "The criminal justice process will now move forward, and we remain committed to ensuring accountability for the lives impacted by this senseless act of violence," the department said in a statement.
The Times was unable to confirm whether the suspect has legal representation.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)