Halloween weekend in Bakersfield turned deadly after a series of shootings and traffic crashes left six people dead, raising concerns about gun violence and pedestrian safety across the community.
Police responded about 3:30 a.m. on Halloween to reports of gunshots at a large party on Half Moon Drive in southwest Bakersfield. Officers found a 16-year-old boy suffering from gunshot wounds. He later died at the scene.
A neighbor described waking up to chaos outside. “I was asleep and I woke up to a bunch of kids by my driveway yelling and crying and running as soon as I came out to my front yard. My whole front yard was filled of kids cars passing by driving crazy,” the neighbor said.
Police returned to Half Moon Drive on Monday night. Officers were seen entering the home where neighbors said the shooting took place.
About an hour earlier and about a mile away, a young woman was struck and killed by a Bakersfield police car on White Lane around 2:45 a.m. Police said she walked in front of the patrol car and was not in a crosswalk. The officer, Robert Carreno, was placed on leave.
Also in southwest Bakersfield on Halloween night, a 12-year-old girl died after a car struck her family on Harris Road. The crash happened on an unmarked crosswalk near Marin Street, where residents have repeatedly pushed for traffic safety improvements.
Hours later, just after midnight on Sunday, Nov. 1, a young woman was shot and killed at a large gathering on Rosedale Highway during what police said was an armed robbery.
Two more pedestrians were killed in crashes later Sunday night. A man was struck and killed by a car around 6:32 p.m. while crossing a marked crosswalk in southwest Bakersfield at California Avenue and Business Center Drive. About an hour later in Oildale, a 68-year-old man in a motorized wheelchair was killed after he was struck by a car on North Chester Avenue. The driver left the scene.
Back on Half Moon Drive, neighbors said they are still searching for answers.
“It’s really tragic that you know a child died and nobody knows what happened and nobody’s talking. There were a lot of people there and nobody seems to know what’s going on. So and it’s scary for those of us who live here,” another neighbor said.