A 17-year-old teen accused of a deadly shooting at a Spirit Halloween store in the San Francisco Bay Area appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Prosecutors are pushing to have the teen tried as an adult.
Last month, the accused minorallegedly entered the Halloween-themed store at the Solano Town Center around 8:30 p.m. and opened fire, killing 31-year-old Constance Hages and injuring six others.
The Solano County district attorney’s office filed several charges against the boy, including, two counts of murder, with a multiple murder special circumstance; three counts of attempted murder; and three counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon.
The minor was arraigned during a Friday court appearance where he pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
Prosecutors also filed a petition to try the teen as an adult. Under Proposition 57, passed by California voters in 2016, prosecutors must obtain a judge’s approval before most juveniles can be tried in an adult court.
The district attorney’s office is anticipating a report early next year that will help determine whether he should be tried in adult court, ABC 10 reported.
A day before Halloween, when shoppers were getting last-minute costumes and decor, the teen allegedly entered the Spirit Halloween and “once inside, the suspect observed another customer, who investigators believe was his intended target,” the Fairfield Police Department said in a statement. “The suspect then produced a firearm and fired multiple rounds at the victim.”
The minor, a resident of Suisun City, had previously been arrested, sentenced and released in connection with a separate shooting that took place in 2025 in the parking lot of a local high school, according to police.
“Due to the seriousness of these crimes, the Minor’s criminal record, and the threat to public safety,” the Solano County district attorney’s office said in a statement that it sought to hold the suspect without bail.
The minor remains in juvenile hall. His next hearing is slated for Dec. 10.
The post Prosecutors seek to try teen as an adult in Spirit Halloween shooting that killed pregnant woman appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
