After a deadly shooting at a Spirit Halloween store in the San Francisco Bay Area that sent people “running and screaming,” a teenage boy has been arrested.
The Fairfield Police Department on Monday arrested the 17-year-old boy on suspicion of fatally shooting a pregnant woman and injuring several others inside the Halloween-themed store on Friday.
The teen’s name has not been shared because he is a minor. But the department said in a statement that the Suisun City resident had previously been arrested, sentenced and released in connection with a separate shooting that took place in the parking lot of a local high school after hours in 2025.
In Friday’s shooting at the Solano Town Center, 31-year-old Constance Hages was killed, and six others were injured. One person remained in critical condition as of Sunday, Michelle Belyea, a spokesperson for the Fairfield Police Department, said at a news conference Monday.
Police said the suspect entered the Spirit Halloween store at around 8:30 p.m. “Once inside, the suspect observed another customer, who investigators believe was his intended target. The suspect then produced a firearm and fired multiple rounds at the victim,” police said. The gunfire struck a total of seven people. According to police, the suspect fled the scene within minutes, just as police officers arrived.
Fairfield police said in the statement they identified the boy as the shooting suspect within hours of an initial 911 call. A Fairfield police school resource officer reviewed surveillance footage from the store and identified the suspect as a former student. He provided the information to detectives, who arrested the boy at a residence in Suisun City on Monday.
Fairfield police said the minor is facing charges of murder and attempted murder in Friday’s shooting. The Solano County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Monday.
“Although an arrest has been made, our work is not over,” Fairfield police said. “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 shooting, which happened as families were shopping for last-minute Halloween supplies inside the store, triggered a massive law enforcement response.
Daniela Seabra Rios told The Times in a text message late Friday that she and her son were waiting inside a car in the parking lot across from Spirit Halloween when she saw a “sea of people running and screaming.” The crowd included many families, she said.
She and her son ducked down onto the floor of their car, where they stayed until police responded, she said.
Santa Rosa resident Chara Brazley said she received a panicked call from her 24-year-old daughter, who works at Ulta Beauty at the shopping center. Her daughter told her she heard several loud gunshots as employees were preparing to close the store for the night.
Brazley said her children had been going to the mall for decades but had “never experienced anything like this before.”
Times staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
