Fatal shooting sent panic through Spirit Halloween store. Teen under arrest

Constance Hages, 31, was shot dead inside a crowded Spirit Halloween store in Fairfield, California, on Friday evening as last-minute shoppers scrambled to escape. The 17-year-old suspect, who cannot be named, was identified within hours after a school resource officer recognised him from store surveillance footage as a former student. He was arrested at a Suisun City residence on Monday and charged with murder and attempted murder.

Family members told police Hages was six months pregnant at the time of her death; six other people sustained gunshot wounds, one of whom remains in critical condition.

The attack was deliberate — the teenager entered the store, sought out a specific customer he had apparently targeted, and opened fire, striking six bystanders in the process.

Prior to this incident, the suspect had faced arrest, conviction and release over a separate shooting in a high school car park in 2025.