The fun and festive spirit of Halloween this past Thursday was tragically tainted once again when a fatal mass shooting took place in the town of Orinda, California. The unfortunate occurrence transpired at a Halloween house party at the home of resident Michael Wang. Wang rented his house out through Airbnb and included prohibitions on drugs, weapons , and parties. He states that the woman he rented it out to told him she would be using it for a family reunion with only a few family members invited; this, however, was obviously not the case. Local residents near the house clarified that the “family reunion” was in fact a disruptive party of at least 100 guests within the house. Little did they know that what seemed like just a raucous Halloween party would soon take a very dark, unexpected, and fatal turn.

 Around 10:50 p.m. a string of shots rang out at the rented Airbnb home, causing citizens to flee quickly and fearfully. Four people were killed and more were injured in the shooting. The names as well as the exact number of victims have not yet been released. Three of these victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and the other was pronounced dead at the Walnut Creek Medical Center.

This house specifically has been said to have a history of disruptive behaviors and has even been given previous notices in regards to noisy occurrences. Though this is the case, the area is said to have been relatively quiet for the past few months up until this fateful event.

What was supposed to be an exciting night for this Orinda neighborhood, as well as many others across the nation, turned out to be one of the most frightful and for all the wrong reasons. We can only hope that the families and loved ones of those affected will be given the help they need and deserve to deal with this tragic event.