Halloween 2023: a tragedy for many
By Sandy . . . In the days and weeks before Halloween, sheriffs’ offices and media
outlets implied that Halloween could bring danger to children who were trick-or-treating. Their messages of how to avoid this impending danger focused on the sex offender registry and the registrants on it. They urged parents to check the registry and to utilize the apps that allow them to zero in on any given location and find out exactly where the “sex offenders” live so that those homes can be avoided while trick-or-treating—because surely, if an unsuspecting child knocked on the door of a registrant, he or she would be in certain and imminent danger. Some counties and parishes even required registrants to have signs at their homes warning the little goblins away.
Halloween 2023 is behind us; were any children injured or harmed in any way?
Absolutely.
In fact, 2023 appears to be setting records in the number of such incidents.
The research that produced these incidents and this information is not finite; there well may be more. This, however, is what was found.
Gun incidents
Seven separate incidents in seven different states resulted in six youth and several adults dead and a host of other victims, some of them also juveniles, wounded during Halloween parties or trick-or-treat activities.
In Pennsylvania a fourteen-year-old lost his life when Halloween groups of youth became confrontational in a parking lot. Multiple shots were fired into the crowd, killing him and injuring two others. Another triple shooting in Delaware left two teens and a twenty-year-old injured.
In Tampa, Florida, a conflict between two groups during a Halloween street party resulted in the deaths of two, one a young teen, and left eighteen wounded. A California youth attending a Halloween party was shot and killed after shots were fired; another teenager at the same party was also shot but survived.
In Las Vegas, Nevada, a teen was murdered on the street when a group of trick-or-treaters opened fire at another group. At a massive Halloween party in Indianapolis, Indiana, a teenage girl died from gunshot wounds and nine others, six of them teens, were wounded after gunfire erupted. Police found six guns in the home. A sixteen-year-old was shot at another Halloween party in Arizona and later died in the hospital.
Automobile injuries and deaths
2023 appears to have set records for collisions with trick-or-treating children in hit
and run and other automobile conflicts.
A four-year-old little boy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was hit by a hit-and-run driver while he was trick-or-treating with his parents; his injuries, thankfully, were minor. Another four-year-old in Birmingham, Alabama, also a hit-and-run victim, was not so fortunate; he remains in critical condition as of this writing. Another child and the adult with them were also hit, but their injuries were not as serious.
Pennsylvania again was the scene of another auto-pedestrian accident with two trick-or treaters; the driver was taken into custody the next day. The children were taken to the hospital; their injuries were relatively minor. Two five-year-olds were injured in Florida while trick-or-treating when they darted into the street. Their injuries were fortunately non-life-threatening. In Monroe, North Carolina, two young victims, ages five and ten were hit by an automobile while trick-or-treating and are recovering from their injuries.
Oklahoma, like Pennsylvania, was the scene for multiple accidents with two separate incidents of automobiles colliding with pedestrians, resulting in three injured trick-or-treating teenagers. While they were all taken to hospitals, none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The deepest tragedies occurred in Georgia and Minnesota where two children under the age of twelve died on Halloween evening. The seven-year-old little girl in Minnesota was not hit by a car, but, dressed in her Halloween costume, was in her mother’s car when it went off the road and crashed. Her mother survived; she did not. The report says that alcohol may have played a role in the accident and that charges will be filed. The report speculates that they were on their way home after trick-or-treating.
An eleven-year-old boy in Georgia was trick-or-treating in Atlanta when he was struck. He was taken to the hospital and died there. The driver was not judged to be at fault.
Halloween 2023 was not good for many families. Guns and cars injured and killed their children.
Guns and cars. No sexual assaults of children by registrants. No children murdered by someone on the registry. Many states and jurisdiction have no laws prohibiting registrants from welcoming trick-or-treaters and handing out candy. Nothing stopped those registrants from abducting and molesting a child. But they didn’t. As far as can be determined, in all the years of the registry, no child has been abducted, molested, or murdered by a registered person in connection with Halloween or trick-or-treat.
Maybe we need to pay more attention to careless gun owners and drivers of automobiles on Halloween. Maybe instead of sending out troops of officers to check whether registrants’ lights are on or off, troops of officers need to be on the streets, at crossings, in neighborhoods.
Maybe we need to stop focusing on registrants as the first cause of harm to children when, in reality, they are the last.
On point!!
Thank you, Sandy, and the rest of everyone at Narsol.
Sarcasm mode turned on – Isn’t this evidence that the registry and warnings against trick-or-treating at the home of a registrant is working since none of the horrible crimes occurred by anyone on the registry? – Sarcasm mode off.
The Alaska SOR database , the court said was absent intent to impose “disability” or “affirmative restraint” upon the individual sex offender. They’re “at liberty” to live and work as the rest of the general public, therefore state’s database was “passive.”
The violence is mostly because they are constantly taught HATE and FEAR.
(Not honor, kindness, mercy.)
The traffic casualties are mostly excessive speed. Excessive speed is unkind and selfish.
When we obey speed limits we are showing kindness and love to all fellow humans.
Nothing good is acheived through Hatred and Unmercifulness.
Sandy your article is well written and so far to the truth. Where are the fights for protecting children now but you would rather believe offenders are the threat but so not true. I’m saddened for the parents and the children who lost their lives just trying to be children.
Very well written and easy to read for anybody; I hope this reaches as many people as possible
Isnt it Amazing? Facts and facts and news and news? But yet SOs are pariahs during Halloween. Am off the reg here in CT but still must observe “Lockdown” in order just to protect myself and to be in kind to my fed PO. 5 years off registry.
Excellent breakdowns & comparisons!! Great Facts !! Thank You Sandy for this well expressed article!!
Totally agree with the contents of this letter.
I wonder how many of these incidents (shootings in particular) were within the registrant residential restriction areas. Or the so-called “gun free” or “child safety” zones.
Several years ago in my area the NEWS followed parole around to make sure compliance. Another county rounded them up to a meeting area. All the while two kids were shot and killed at a Halloween party by another felon who was with a parolee who was not a registrant.
For Dan Silvermans comment: Im in Kansas and in this state they arent implementing these ridiculous regulations or residency restrictions. Did you see any of these tragedies occuring here? I dont think so! None happened and the SO`s were free to come and go as they pleased. THAT speaks LOUDLY!
Great article!
Well said, Sandy!
All so parents can just “feel safe” and teach their kids to run ramshackle over others rights, kindness and property. Just like that viral video of those porch pirates raiding and emptying a bowl of Halloween candy led by their mother encouraging her kids to be greedy, entitled and self-righteous
Yes, and each year the the actual witch hunt against us is getting worse. The ignorance. The fear. The hate. The hysteria. The spite. The misguided “alerts” about those map pins. I go insane just trying to understand how the authorities think all of this is “worth it.”