A wave of gun violence swept across the United States over the Halloween weekend, with shootings at costume parties, college neighbourhoods, nightlife districts and even a Halloween costume store leaving at least 24 people dead and more than 90 wounded, according to tallies compiled from US media reports.
Many of the victims were teenagers and young adults out celebrating, and police in several cities said the violence began with arguments that spiralled into gunfire.
Teen girl killed in line for Halloween party in Jacksonville
In Jacksonville, Florida, a 17-year-old girl was killed and two other people were wounded outside a Halloween party early on Sunday, November 1.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said officers were called at about 1:42 a.m. to the area outside the Regency Inn on Arlington Expressway. Investigators believe an argument among people waiting in line to get into the party turned into gunfire when at least two suspects walked up and opened fire. Police said all three victims appear to have been unintended targets. No arrests have been made, and the sheriff’s office has asked anyone with information or phone video to come forward.
Four dead in Dallas nightlife district
The deadliest single area was Deep Ellum, Dallas’s popular entertainment district, where three separate shootings within about 75 minutes on Halloween night left four people dead and around 15 injured. Police said the incidents did not appear to be linked but were still investigating, and some suspects were arrested.
Pregnant woman killed at Spirit Halloween store
In Fairfield, California, a gunman opened fire inside a Spirit Halloween store at the Solano Town Center mall at about 8:30 p.m. on Friday, October 30. Police identified the woman killed as 31-year-old Constance Hages, whose family said she was pregnant. Six men aged between 16 and 43 were wounded, three of them critically.
Police described it as a targeted attack involving one suspect, who had not been caught as of Sunday. The FBI is helping local investigators, and the mall cancelled a planned trick-or-treat event.
Campuses and game-day crowds hit
- Birmingham, Alabama: One person was killed and eight wounded in two shootings near crowds leaving the Alabama State–Alabama A&M football game on Halloween night. A 17-year-old was taken into custody.
- Bloomington, Illinois: A 19-year-old woman was killed and seven people wounded near Illinois Wesleyan University in the early hours of Sunday.
- Boulder, Colorado: A University of Colorado student was killed and another wounded at a Halloween party, local media reported.
- Newark, Delaware: Six people were wounded near the University of Delaware.
Other shootings
Shootings were also reported at a club in Mississippi, where two people died, and in Little Rock and Fayetteville, Arkansas, where arguments ended in gunfire. In Detroit, a five-year-old girl was hit by a stray bullet inside her home, and in Madison Heights, Michigan, a man was shot during an argument at a Halloween supply store.
A familiar pattern
Halloween weekends have repeatedly been marked by mass shootings in the US in recent years, including at parties in Chicago in 2023 and on Orlando’s busy Halloween night in 2024. Large crowds, late-night gatherings and easy access to guns create conditions in which small disputes can turn deadly, experts say.
For Nigerian and other African families in the diaspora with children in US colleges, the weekend’s violence near several campuses is a reminder to talk with young people about safety at large parties and crowded nightlife spots.
Several investigations are ongoing, and police in many of the cities are asking witnesses to come forward.
Sources: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office via News4Jax, ABC7, SBS News, Associated Press and local US media.
