The Castro district’s Halloween party turned bloody last night when an unidentified ghoul decided to do a little shooting.
A freelance security guard says the shooting started around 10:40pm when he heard “heard someone empty their gun” and the crowd of thousands began to disperse. When police arrived at the scene, they found seven victims – two of which have life-threatening injuries. As they pieced stories together, two more victims were found.
Once a spontaneous, unsanctioned party, the city took over the legendary Halloween festival in 2002 as part of an effort to curb violence. Needless to say, it hasn’t worked.
While there are no known subjects, people have reported that the event draws a fair amount of homo-haters. Of course, one can never discredit a disgruntled queen.
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ggreen
People say that only about 10% of Castro residents actually attend the Halloween festivities. That means the other 90% are a virtual prisoner in their homes from about 1PM on (that’s when the parking becomes 100% restricted). Then the Castro fills up with all sorts of bridge and tunnel tourists and gang members. A bunch of losers are trying to turn this into a political issue (which is what happens when ass holes can’t get their way, look at the fundies). It’s really just about safety and respecting the residents and the neighborhood.
San fran man
I live in the Castro. Not many of us that live here go out for Halloween anymore. It’s completely insane! It’s the only time during the year that I don’t feel comfortable walking through my neighborhood holding my boyfriends hand. Even before the party started last night around 7pm we were walking to get dinner. And we actually stopped holding hands becuase we were feeling uncomfortable with the highschool kids that were sitting around on peoples front steps drinking.
Kevin
S7r419h7 people ruining another thing. Is that not unexpected?
dubstyle
i live in downtown SF and im a partier but i will never go to the castro for halloween again. I hope they dont have it next year. for the most part its just a whole bunch of thugs and lowlifes or people that have no respect for our city. I mean look we have other big gatherings, like the bay to breakers and i dont recall anyone getting shot there. but whatever we’ll see next year.
Johnny
If the city doesn’t shut it down, then perhaps a coalition of residents can sue the city for endangering their lives. I stopped attending in the mid 90’s when it became way too scary to celebrate in my own neighborhood. Yeah…, vibed out of my own neighborhood by those who came to take verbal and physical shots at us. 10 years later I say the same thing: SHUT IT DOWN! It’s going to take a concerted effort by the city and media well before and during next Halloween season to shut it down, but there’s simply no choice in my humble opinion. Even a totally cordoned-off party will have the monsters waiting for us to empty the neighborhood and attack us on our way home. I live ON 18th. St. and overhear from my window EXACTLY what these gang-bangers are saying on their way to/from the Castro and it’s simply chilling. Halloween is supposed to be ‘pretend scary’. Unfortunately, it’s mutated into something REALLY scary.
Rhone SF
I live next door to Sullivan’s. My apartment faces market street, and the shooting happened pretty much on my doorstep. I was standing on the fire escape and saw the shootings, less than 10 feet away from where I was standing. (Well, not counting vertical distance.)
I’m pretty sure I actually talked to the gang that was invovled, right before the shooting started. I had to get past them to get into my apartment. I joked a bit with them that I could smell the pot all the way up in my apartment.
They were actually, you know, nice. I didn’t sense any homo-hating from them — and I had been out in the streeet. It seemed to be purely a matter of their own internal gang politics.
Eric
This is crazy. Fuck the gang members. I say we just round up all suspected gang members and just kill them. Yeah its extreme, but fuck them. The rest of us deserve to live our lives and not have to worry about this kind of shit.