Fairfield police were still searching Saturday for whoever opened fire inside a Spirit Halloween store at Solano Town Center on Friday night, leaving one person dead and six others wounded in an attack the department now treats as a targeted shooting involving a single suspect.
Officers were dispatched at 8:30 p.m. local time after gunfire inside the seasonal costume retailer, Police Chief Dan Marshall told reporters late Friday. All seven people hit suffered gunshot wounds, including one who died at the scene. Marshall said at least three survivors were in critical condition when they were taken to hospitals; the department had not released ages or names for any victim as of Saturday morning.
What investigators have said so far
Marshall said detectives had not identified a shooter and were reviewing mall video and witness accounts. In a Saturday statement, the department said preliminary information pointed to one suspect inside the store and described the case as a targeted incident rather than a random mall attack. No one was in custody, and police said there was no continuing threat to the public once the gunman left.
The FBI’s Sacramento field office sent an evidence response team to assist, and other agencies including Suisun City police and the California Highway Patrol helped secure the shopping center and manage traffic. Fairfield asked anyone with information to contact the department or email a tip line set up for the case.
Disruption on the eve of Halloween
Solano Town Center canceled its planned Mall-O-Ween trick-or-treating event but said the mall would reopen Saturday on a normal schedule. Spirit Halloween kept its storefront closed while investigators worked inside. Witnesses described bursts of gunfire and a rush toward exits; one shopper told NBC affiliate KCRA that his wife escaped through an emergency door after hearing several loud shots.
Police acknowledged the timing, with Halloween celebrations scheduled across the region, and urged residents to stay alert and report suspicious activity. The shooting unfolded roughly 37 miles northeast of Sacramento in a city that has seen mall security incidents before but rarely a casualty count this high in a single store.
Unrelated shooting in Michigan
Hours earlier on Friday, a separate shooting at a Spirit Halloween location in Madison Heights, Michigan, left a 21-year-old Detroit man dead after he was wounded inside the store, local police said. Officers arrested another 21-year-old man at the scene after bystanders assaulted him; investigators said the Michigan case appeared unrelated to Fairfield and that they expected to seek charges there.
What comes next
Fairfield detectives said the crime scene remained active Saturday as they tried to reconstruct the shooter’s path and any prior contact with victims. Marshall promised additional updates when identifications or charges were ready. Until then, the department’s focus is locating the suspect and supporting families facing a Halloween weekend marked by a manhunt instead of mall festivities.