A 17 year old is in custody and facing murder charges in the Spirit Halloween shooting that killed Constance Hages, a pregnant mother, and wounded six other people inside a store in Fairfield, California.
The shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. Friday, October 30, at the Spirit Halloween inside Solano Town Center, where shoppers were picking up last minute costumes the night before Halloween. Hages, 31, died from her injuries. The six people wounded were five men and a 16 year old boy.
As of Monday, four of the wounded were still in the hospital. A 19 year old man remained in critical condition, while the 16 year old, a 23 year old man and a 32 year old man were listed as stable. Cellphone video recorded inside the store shows shoppers scrambling for cover as the gunfire went off.
Fairfield police arrested the teen in the Spirit Halloween shooting Monday afternoon at his home in Suisun City, which borders Fairfield. SWAT officers surrounded the house, and Police Chief Dan Marshall said the suspect came out peacefully. He faces one count of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder. Marshall said a second murder count could be added because Hages was pregnant. California is one of the states where killing a fetus can be charged as murder.
Police have not released his name because he is a minor.
Investigators believe the Spirit Halloween shooting was targeted. Police spokesperson Michelle Belyea said the gunman walked into the store and opened fire at a specific person. Police have not said what led up to it.
The break in the case came fast. Marshall said a Fairfield school resource officer recognized the teen in the store’s surveillance footage within hours. Police knew who they were looking for all weekend but kept his identity quiet to protect the investigation.
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This was not his first shooting. Marshall said the teen opened fire on a car at a Fairfield school in 2025, was charged, and served a few months in juvenile hall before he was released.
Marshall did not hold back about that. “This event shouldn’t have even occurred,” he said Monday. “(The suspect) was charged and served a few months in the juvenile hall. Apparently he was rehabilitated and he’s back out to commit this horrendous crime.”
The chief used the news conference to push for tougher accountability and new laws on how young people who commit violent crimes are punished. He also brought up the June shooting at a Sem Yeto High School graduation ceremony held on the Fairfield High School campus, where an 18 year old was killed and three others were wounded. A teenager was arrested in that case, and police have not tied it to this suspect.
Because he is 17, his case begins in juvenile court. Under California law, prosecutors can ask a judge to move a case like this to adult court, where a murder conviction carries far more prison time.
Outside the store Monday, the Spirit Halloween sign had been taken down. A small memorial for Hages remained.
