A teenage boy has been arrested after a fatal shooting at a San Francisco Bay Area Spirit Halloween store left people “running and screaming.”
The Fairfield Police Department arrested the 17-year-old boy on Monday on suspicion of fatally shooting a pregnant woman and injuring several others inside a Halloween-themed store on Friday.
Because the teen is a minor, his name has not been released. But the Suisun resident had previously been arrested, sentenced and released in connection with another shooting that occurred in a local high school parking lot after school in 2025, the department said in a statement.
Constance Hages, 31, was killed and six others were injured in Friday’s shooting in Solano Town Center. One person remained in serious condition as of Sunday, Fairfield Police Department spokesperson Michelle Beria said at a news conference Monday.
Police said the suspect entered the Spirit Halloween store around 8:30 p.m. “Once inside, the suspect spotted another customer who investigators believe was his intended target. The suspect then pulled out a firearm and fired multiple shots at the victim,” police said. A total of seven people were struck by gunfire. When officers arrived, the suspect fled the scene within minutes, according to police.
Fairfield police said in a statement that they identified the boy as the shooting suspect within hours of the initial 911 call. A Fairfield police school resource officer reviewed surveillance video from the store and identified the suspect as a former student. He provided that information to detectives, who arrested the boy Monday at a residence in Suisun City.
Fairfield police said the minor faces murder and attempted murder charges in Friday’s shooting. The Solano County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
“While 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 affected by this senseless act of violence.”
The shooting, which occurred as a family was shopping for last-minute Halloween supplies at the store, prompted a massive law enforcement response.
Daniela Seabra Rios told The Times in a text message late Friday that she and her son were waiting in their car in the parking lot across from Spirit Halloween when she saw “a big group of people running and screaming.” The crowd included many families, she said.
She said she and her son hid on the floor of the car and remained there until police responded.
Santa Rosa resident Chara Brazley said she received a panicked call from her 24-year-old daughter, who works at an Ulta Beauty in the mall. Her daughter told her that as employees were preparing to close the store for the night, she heard several loud gunshots.
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.