The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Halloween violence: 6 killed in 2 states, child shot in Chicago
Four people were killed and at least three were wounded at a Halloween night party shooting at a rental house in a wealthy San Francisco Bay Area community, and two were killed at a party to celebrate the holiday in eastern Utah, authorities said Friday.
And, in Chicago, a 7-year-old girl who was trick-or-treating in a bumblebee costume was critically injured by what police said was gang-related gunfire.
The home where shooting erupted in the San Francisco suburb of Orinda had been rented out on Airbnb for what the renter said would be a family reunion, the home’s owner said.
However, more than 100 people showed up and police were called to the house late Thursday night, police Chief David Cook told the East Bay Times.
Residents of the neighborhood were frustrated with the party’s noise before the shooting, said neighbor Chris Gade.
“It was just more of a noise complaint that we were worried about originally,” he told reporters.
Then Gade said he heard gunshots and saw people “screaming and fleeing down the hill.”
Airbnb is “urgently investigating” what happened, spokesman Ben Breit said in an email.
The home last sold for $1.2 million in 2017 and rents for about $420 per night.
Police did not immediately provide information about the victims or what prompted the violence.
In Utah, a 22-year-old man was stabbed to death and a 23-yearold man was fatally shot at a Halloween party where about 20 people were drinking, said Duchesne County Sheriff Travis Tucker.
The incident happened near the small town of Roosevelt, about 140 miles east of Salt Lake City, in a rural area that relies heavily on oil drilling.
‘This is unacceptable’
In Chicago, a 30-year-old man is believed to have been the target of the attack that wounded the 7-year-old trick-or-treater, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. He said the man was shot in the hand.
The girl was shot in the lower neck and rushed to a hospital in critical condition, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. She was in critical but stable condition Friday, Guglielmi said.
“This is unacceptable,” Sgt. Rocco Alioto said. “A 7-year-old girl that was trick-or-treating with her family had to get shot because a group of guys want to shoot at another male.”
A juvenile identified as a person of interest in the shooting was taken into custody Friday, and detectives were interviewing the individual, Guglielmi said.
The shooter had on a mask like the one the character Jason wears in the “Friday the 13th” movies, Guglielmi said.