SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Bay Area advocates are calling for changes to California’s juvenile justice system following a Fairfield Spirit Halloween shooting that killed a pregnant woman and injured six others.
Tuesday morning, victims’ families and law enforcement officials joined forces to push for reforms, arguing the current system is failing to rehabilitate young offenders and prevent repeat crimes.
Advocates point to the Oct. 30 shooting at a Fairfield Spirit Halloween store as the latest example. The 17-year-old suspect had previously been convicted in another shooting and served time at a juvenile detention facility in 2025 before being released. He is now accused of killing a pregnant woman and injuring six others in last month’s shooting.
(Photo: KRON4 News)
For some families at Tuesday’s news conference, the call for change was deeply personal.
“My son was murdered in Hanford, California,” said one mother.
“He was actually set up, robbed and shot,” said another mother.
One grandmother described the devastating toll of a quadruple homicide that claimed three generations of her family.
Advocates like Stephen Quick, whose son was murdered, accused the state’s juvenile justice system of prioritizing early release over meaningful rehabilitation.
“My son Caleb was murdered April 23, 2025,” said Quick, a juvenile justice reform advocate. “If we're saying that these kids can't get transferred to a criminal courtroom because their brains are not developed, why are we still letting them out before the age of 25? Redefine rehabilitation so that we actually do not get repeat offenses.”
But not everyone at the news conference agreed that harsher punishment is the answer.
Kristopher Scott, managing director of programs for Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), a Bay Area nonprofit that works with young people through legal education and mentorship, argued that education and restorative rehabilitation are more effective ways to prevent repeat offenses.
“Actually confronting the person who was harmed by the crime and hearing directly how that impacted and affected them — I can tell you right now, sitting in a cell doesn't do that,” Scott said. “Sometimes we get people who are victims, yeah, persons locked up, but they never get closure from that.”
The 17-year-old suspect remains in juvenile custody. He faces two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and additional weapons charges. A judge is considering prosecutors’ request to try him as an adult.
