Violent Halloween weekend in US with more than a dozen killed, over 90 injured in shootings

By Eduardo Cuevas, Isa Mudannayake, Karina Tsui, Martin Goillandeau, CNN

(CNN) — More than a dozen people were killed and over 90 others injured over a Halloween weekend marred by gun violence, with multiple shootings across the country upending celebrations.

One mass shooting in California occurred as people went to get last-minute costumes at Spirit Halloween, leaving a pregnant woman dead and sending people scrambling for cover. Another happened after the annual Magic City Classic football game in Birmingham, Alabama, between rivals Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University. Delaware, a state with just over 1 million people, had two mass shootings on Halloween night, including near its largest university.

“This is not normal,” Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer said in a statement. “We must never accept gun violence as a part of life in Delaware.”

The latest violence occurred around typically American fall events – Halloween, football, college parties – and comes just over two weeks after a mass shooting in an Oregon elementary school killed three students and a teacher inside a special needs classroom.

With at least 13 people dead and 92 injured, this Halloween weekend was one of the most violent in recent years, according to CNN’s preliminary estimates, based in part on tallies from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive. The list, while not exhaustive, gives a glimpse into the country’s latest bouts of gun violence.

Shootings at costume store and pre-Halloween parties

One of the first deaths happened on the eve of Halloween at a holiday store in Fairfield, California, northeast of San Francisco. Constance Hages, 31, who family members said was pregnant, was at a Spirit Halloween when gunfire erupted at 8:30 p.m. Friday, police said.

Six others were wounded, including three critically. The shopping center canceled the next day’s trick-or-treating event after the shooting.

A shooting at a Flint, Michigan, party just before 12:30 a.m. on Saturday left one woman killed while two teenage boys and a man were injured, CNN affiliate WJRT reported. The three injured are listed in good condition.

In Kansas, Wichita Police said an after-party early Saturday resulted in four people shot, including one 36-year-old man hit in the face by a stray bullet while looking outside of his window, CNN affiliate KAKE reported.

2 shootings at storied college game

In Alabama, two shootings just minutes apart followed the end of Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University’s Magic City Classic on Saturday night in Birmingham. The rivalry football game, which took place at the city’s 71,000-seat Legion Field, is an eight-decade tradition between the historically Black universities.

One person was killed and eight others wounded in the gunfire just before 8 p.m., near vendors set up outside of Legion Field, Birmingham police said.

A 17-year-old not affiliated with either university was taken into custody, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said. The teen had a gun with a Glock conversion switch, Woodfin said.

In Birmingham, the mayor said, people can be united in grieving and seeking justice while still celebrating the classic football game, where Woodfin had posted pictures of himself Saturday evening.

“We can have an honest conversation about public safety while continuing to embrace and celebrate the traditions that have helped shape our city and our institution,” he told reporters Sunday afternoon.

Gun violence in college towns

Later Saturday, as people went out to parties in small communities, college towns and urban hubs, they encountered more violence.

Delaware experienced two shootings in just over an hour.

At an outdoor party in Ellendale, a small Delaware town about 20 miles northwest of Rehoboth Beach, someone opened fire into the crowd from a neighboring property just before 10 p.m., according to the State Police’s preliminary investigation. The shooter hit nine people, including a 17-year-old girl who later died from her injuries, police said. Those injured ranged in age from 17 to 22.

Just over an hour later, at around 11:13 p.m., came another mass shooting as people celebrated Halloween along a crowded Main Street near the University of Delaware, in Newark. Six people were shot and taken to hospitals, Newark Police said early Saturday.

“I ask that you keep the victims in your thoughts and hearts as they receive care,” University of Delaware President Laura A. Carlson said in a campus letter Sunday. “Please also recognize the impact and toll on our students and community members who were on Main Street last night and witnessed this violence.”

Near the US-Mexico border, gunfire erupted at a Halloween birthday party just north of Edinburg, Texas, around 11:45 p.m. CT, CNN affiliate KRGV reported. The shooting left seven people wounded with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office statement.

Two cities named Bloomington – one in Illinois and another in Indiana – suffered shootings early Sunday that left a total of 14 people injured and one dead.

In Illinois, Bloomington Police responded to reports of shots fired at around 1:23 a.m. CT on a residential block just north of Illinois Wesleyan University, where they found multiple people with gunshot wounds, officials said in a social media post. Eight victims have been identified, local police said, including a 19-year-old woman pronounced dead at the scene.

In addition, another woman was transported to a regional trauma center, where she’s listed in critical condition, police said. Six other people have non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

In Bloomington, Indiana, police officers from the city and Indiana University were watching a large crowd at a downtown street corner when shots were fired around 1:30 a.m. ET, CNN affiliate WISH reported. Seven people between 17 and 27 years old were injured, WISH reported.

None of the victims go to school in Bloomington, Mayor Kerry Thomson said Sunday, adding all were from the Indianapolis area. All seven were in stable condition, Thomson said.

One person was arrested while trying to flee from police while armed, city officials said. No suspects have been identified or arrested.

In Arkansas, Fayetteville Police had already been assigned to work in the city’s popular Dickson Street area because of Halloween festivities and a University of Arkansas home football game, according to a department news update. But just after 1:40 a.m. Sunday, police responded to reports of a shooting nearby and found six people shot. All were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

From towns to cities

In Jackson, Mississippi, police said a man and woman were killed and four others were injured at a nightclub early Sunday. Two men wearing ski masks entered the club, which was hosting a costume party, and at least one of them pulled out a gun and fired into the crowd on the dance floor, CNN affiliate WAPT reported.

On the streets of Dallas’ bustling nightlife district in the Deep Ellum neighborhood, three shootings that began just after midnight left four people killed and at least 15 others injured. More police were already patrolling the area, just east of downtown Dallas, because of Halloween events.

“We had more presence out here, and this was something that we were ramped up for,” Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux told reporters. He added the number of injured was “still moving a little bit” with some people transporting themselves for medical care.

Shootings at two Halloween parties in Jacksonville, Florida, resulted in two people killed and 11 others injured.

One happened around 1:45 a.m. while people were in line for a party, leaving a 17-year-old girl fatally shot and two others wounded, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said. The second was just over two hours later at a house party, the sheriff’s office said. Two instances of gunfire there left a 20-year-old man dead and nine others between the ages of 15 and 25 hurt; one has a life-threatening injury, the sheriff’s office said.

The shootings at both Jacksonville parties were the result of fights that then led to gunfire, police said.

“I am saddened by the heinous acts of violence our community endured this weekend,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said in a statement. “My heart goes out to the victims of these senseless acts and the many others impacted.”

There have been nearly 400 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, which amounts to more than one a day, according to the Gun Violence Archive’s ongoing tally.

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CNN’s Chris Boyette, Amanda Watts and Sydney Bishop contributed to this report.