Police in Fairfield announced Monday that a 17-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting at a Halloween store that left a pregnant mother of four dead and six other people wounded.
The Fairfield Police Department said it could not release the teen's name because he is a minor. Police Chief Dan Marshall said officers learned the suspect's identity shortly after the shooting but held back the information to protect the investigation. The teen was taken into custody at his home in Suisun City.
According to the district attorney's office, the suspect faces two counts of murder because the victim was pregnant. He also faces three counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a semi-automatic weapon, and multiple gun enhancements.
Marshall said the teen had previously been arrested in connection with a 2025 shooting in the parking lot of a local high school. He was charged in that case and spent several months in juvenile hall before being released.
The chief said he hoped the community could sleep a little better knowing the suspect was off the streets, but he added that more must be done to address gun violence involving juveniles. "It's time for change in California," Marshall said. "I don't know how many more people have to die at the hands of youth. Hopefully we've had plenty enough."
The shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. Friday inside a pop-up Halloween store at Solano Town Center, where families were browsing costumes and decorations for last-minute items. Police said the suspect entered the store, spotted a customer investigators believe was his intended target, pulled out a firearm and fired multiple times, striking that person and six others.
Constance Hages, 31, a pregnant mother of four, was killed. Six males ranging in age from 16 to 43 were wounded. Two of the victims have since been released from the hospital, while a 19-year-old remained in critical condition as of Monday. Marshall could not say whether Hages was the intended target or which of the wounded victims was targeted.
The gunfire sent shoppers diving for cover in chaotic moments that were captured on video. "When we went in there, we just heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop," shopper Miena Davis recalled. "Everybody froze and was like, 'What was that?' Then another round of the same sound went off. Then me and a bunch of shoppers just started running, just booked it." Davis said shoppers escaped through a gate inside the store that led back into the mall, breaking it open and slipping underneath a gap in the corner to get out.
Police said the teen fled within minutes, but authorities identified him through the initial 911 call, a school resource officer who recognized him as a former student, and surveillance video. Police did not say which school the teen attended or where the officer worked.
The Halloween store has since been dismantled, which is routine for the temporary shop after the holiday. Hages' family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover her burial expenses.
