A 17-year-old charged with killing a pregnant mother of four children during a shooting inside a Spirit Halloween could be tried as an adult in California, prosecutors announced.
The teen opened fire at a Spirit Halloween inside the Solano Town Center in Fairfield, California, the evening of October 30, fatally shooting Constance Hages and striking six others, according to police.
Investigators believe the teen was aiming for one of the customers, described as his “intended target” who was one of the six other people shot, the Fairfield Police Department said in a news release on Monday, November 2, after the teen was arrested earlier that day.
Hages, 31, died of her injuries at the scene, according to police, who said her family members confirmed to detectives she was 13 weeks pregnant.
The 17-year-old was taken into custody Monday after he was accused of fleeing the Spirit Halloween following the shooting. A Fairfield police school resource officer helped identify him as the suspect after watching surveillance footage and recognizing him as a former student, police said.
The Solano County District Attorney’s Office identified the teen as Monte Smith in a Tuesday, November 3, news release due multiple press requests. Police previously declined to identify him due to his age.
Prosecutors formally charged Smith on Tuesday with two counts of murder with a multiple murder special circumstance, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a semi-automatic weapon, and several gun enhancements. He was also charged in connection with a prior conviction for a violent offense.
The office announced the state has filed a petition seeking to transfer Smith’s case from juvenile court to adult court so he “can be tried as an adult.”
Smith was set to appear for an arraignment in juvenile court on Wednesday, November 4.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether he retained legal counsel or a plea.
In the wake of the shooting that killed Hages, Clanisha Morton, a woman who identified Hages as her niece created a GoFundMe to support Hages’ four children.
“This heartbreaking loss has left behind four children, grieving parents, and a family trying to face a pain that words can barely hold. Constance was deeply loved, and her absence has created an overwhelming void in the lives of everyone who knew and cherished her,” Morton wrote on the fundraiser’s page.
Out of the six other people allegedly shot by Smith, three were in critical condition as of Saturday, October 31, according to police, including a 16-year-old boy, a 19-year-old man, and a 32-year-old man.
A 23-year-old man was hospitalized in “critical but stable condition” as of Saturday while two others, a 19-year-old man and 43-year-old man, were treated for their gunshot wounds and released, police said.
The Solano County District Attorney’s Office said on Tuesday that “due to the seriousness of these crimes, the Minor’s criminal record, and the threat to public safety, the People will argue that Smith remain detained.”
Smith had been previously sentenced and released in connection with a 2025 shooting at a local high school, according to Fairfield police.
Fairfield is about a 45-mile drive northeast from San Francisco.
