Updated

Updated · Fox News · Nov 4

Teen Faces 2 Murder Counts in Fairfield Halloween Store Shooting That Killed 1, Wounded 6

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Nov 4

Teen Faces 2 Murder Counts in Fairfield Halloween Store Shooting That Killed 1, Wounded 6

Q: Who was the actual target of the Fairfield shooting, and what dark motive led to the death of a pregnant mother?

The intended target has not been publicly identified. Investigators have said only that the 17-year-old suspect, Monte Smith, appeared to recognize and target another customer inside the Spirit Halloween store, someone police believe had a prior altercation with him. As for motive, authorities have not disclosed a definitive one. The strongest public explanation so far is that the shooting was a targeted attack tied to that earlier conflict. Police and prosecutors have not released evidence of any broader motive beyond that apparent personal dispute. Constance Hages, a 31-year-old pregnant mother of four, was not identified as the intended target. By all public accounts, she was an uninvolved shopper caught in the gunfire. She was killed at the scene, and prosecutors later filed two murder counts, reflecting the deaths of Hages and her unborn child under the charging theory in the case. So the answer, based on current public reporting, is that the actual target remains unnamed, and the “dark motive” appears to have been retaliation or violence stemming from a previous altercation rather than any known connection to Hages. Her death appears to have been the tragic result of a targeted shooting carried out in a crowded store.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 4

Monte Smith, 17, was arrested Nov. 2 and charged with two counts of murder after prosecutors said he killed 31-year-old Constance Hages and wounded six others at a Fairfield Spirit Halloween store.
Police said Smith entered the store around 8:30 p.m. Oct. 30, spotted an intended target, and fired multiple rounds, killing Hages — who was pregnant — and hitting six bystanders.
Three victims remained in critical condition, including a 16-year-old boy, while prosecutors also filed three attempted-murder counts, assault charges, gun enhancements and a multiple-murder special-circumstance allegation.
A school resource officer recognized Smith from surveillance video as a former student, helping detectives identify him within hours and locate him in nearby Suisun City.
Prosecutors are seeking to try Smith as an adult and keep him detained, citing a prior 2025 shooting case and a violent-offense record, with arraignment and a detention hearing set for Nov. 4.