Halloween Weekend Shootings Kill at Least Six in Nightlife Districts. Teens Are Among the Victims and the Suspects

A string of shootings from Friday, Oct. 30, through early Sunday, Nov. 1, left people dead and dozens wounded in cities across the country. At least six people died in shootings at nightlife districts, according to police accounts. Two more were killed Friday in separate shootings at Spirit Halloween stores in California and Michigan.

Minors turn up repeatedly in the details. A 17-year-old is in custody in Fairfield, California. Another 17-year-old is being held in Birmingham, Alabama. A 16-year-old was shot dead in Bakersfield, and police there have identified no suspect.

Bakersfield: 16-year-old killed at a party

Bakersfield police were called around 3:35 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, to the 3500 block of South Half Moon Drive in the southwest part of the city. Officers found a 16-year-old with severe injuries at a large party. He died at a hospital.

A GoFundMe identified him as William Aviles. North High School's football team said in a post that he was a former player, and the school's team described "deep sorrow and heavy hearts." The fundraiser, which had raised more than $8,100 of a $14,000 goal, said he was shot when "a gunman fired blindly into a crowd of innocent teenagers." That description comes from the family's fundraiser, not from police.

Police said numerous bystanders witnessed or recorded the shooting, and some videos have circulated on social media. The department is asking anyone with footage to upload it through a link it has published. Detective Matthew Guerra can be reached at (661) 326-3872, and the department's line is (661) 327-7111.

This is the second fatal teen shooting tied to Bakersfield high school football this fall. In late August, 17-year-old quarterback Levi Brown was shot dead during a high school game. A 15-year-old was arrested, and police said the two knew each other and that it "was not a random act of violence."

Fairfield: store shooting, 17-year-old charged

The shooting at the Spirit Halloween store inside the Solano Town Center mall in Fairfield began around 8:30 p.m. Friday. Seven people were hit. Constance Hages, 31, died. Her family told police she was pregnant.

Fairfield police announced Monday that a 17-year-old male has been arrested and faces charges of murder and numerous counts of attempted murder. Police are not naming him because of his age.

Police say he pulled a gun inside the store and fired multiple rounds at a person he allegedly targeted. Police Chief Dan Marshall had called it a targeted incident. Six other people were wounded. As of the latest police update, a 16-year-old and men ages 19 and 32 remained in critical condition. A 23-year-old man was in critical but stable condition. Two other men, 19 and 43, were treated and released.

Birmingham, Dallas and the college towns

In Birmingham, shots rang out around 7:50 p.m. Saturday near Legion Field after the Magic City Classic between Alabama A&M and Alabama State. Mayor Randall Woodfin said there were two separate shootings less than eight minutes apart. The first left six people shot and the second, across the street from the stadium, left three. One person died at the scene. The victims range from 19 to roughly 30.

A 17-year-old who is not affiliated with either university is in custody on a 48-hour hold, Woodfin said. The mayor said the teenager had a gun with a Glock conversion switch, a device that lets a pistol fire automatically. Police have not announced charges. Police spokesman De'Rell Freeman said multiple firearms were recovered. Chief Michael Pickett said most spectators had already left and that he was "very grateful that more people weren't injured."

Dallas had the worst of it. Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said four people died and 15 were wounded in the Deep Ellum entertainment district in three separate shootings over about an hour and 15 minutes on Saturday night. Investigators have not determined whether they were connected. Comeaux said some arrests were made but did not say how many or on what charges. The department had increased its presence in the district before the shootings, and no officers were hurt.

Elsewhere, six people were shot near the University of Delaware campus in Newark, Lt. Greg D'Elia said. In Bloomington, Illinois, a 19-year-old woman was killed and another woman was critically wounded early Sunday near Illinois Wesleyan University. Fayetteville, Arkansas, police also reported a shooting in the city's nightlife district.

The Gun Violence Archive counts at least 393 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year. It defines one as four or more people shot, not including the shooter. The weekend followed a shooting near Florida A&M University in Tallahassee a week earlier that wounded 11 people, including six juveniles.

What is still open

The Birmingham teenager's 48-hour hold runs out within days, and prosecutors have not said what charges, if any, will follow. In Dallas, police have not said whether the arrests connect to any of the three shootings. In Bakersfield, detectives are leaning on bystander video to identify whoever shot William Aviles.