Sumter, South Carolina, Boy Shot and Killed Halloween Night While Trick or Treating
Halloween Trick or Treating Just Got More Dangerous
Many neighbors thought they heard gunfire or fireworks, but they ignored the commotion, believing it was a Halloween prank.
Quentin Patrick arrested in Halloween shooting
According to the Associated Press, Quentin Patrick, 22, has been charged with murder and three counts of assault and battery with attempt to kill in the shooting. Patrick is in police custody.
Sumter, South Carolina, is a relatively small city with a population of just under 40,000 people. The neighborhood this family was trick or treating in was described by neighbors as being a quiet community filled with elderly people.
Halloween Trick or Treating dangerous
As a parent of two small children, I know that Halloween night can be dangerous. Kids of all ages darting across busy streets in dark costumes, their minds on nothing more than what loot they'll get at the next house. Children knocking on strangers' doors, not knowing what will answer. In the case of this family, the answer was a spray of bullets.
Usually we hear about a child or two who were struck by vehicles on Halloween night. Parents warn their children about crossing the street safely, wearing reflective tape on their costumes, to prevent accidents from occurring.
As a child, I remember being told not to eat any Halloween candy or homemade goodies without letting my parents inspect it first. Poisoned treats, razor blades, etc... those were the dangers we faced as children.
Now parents have to worry about being shot at on Halloween night.
Another Halloween Shooting
As reported by the L.A. Times, Bryshon Nellum, a University of Southern California sprinter, was shot in the leg three times at a Halloweeen party. His coach Ron Allice says Nellum's surgery was successful and doctors hope the 19-year-old runner will be able to resume his track career.
Sources:
"SC boy shot, killed trick-or-treating; 2 injured", Associated Press
"Sumter, South Carolina", Wikipedia.org
"USC sprinter shot at Halloween party", LATimes.com
Published by Heather K. Adams
Heather K. Adams is an award-winning journalist with the North Dakota Newspaper Association. While she can write on many topics, she specializes in personalized national and state news reports, music, and pa... View profile
Halloween Alternatives for Trick or TreatingMany parents are not comfortable with taking their child out trick or treating door to door on Halloween. Instead of staying home, why not take your child to a safe Halloween ev...- Should an Older Teen Still Go Trick-or-Treating?Older teen admits reasons for going trick-or-treating.
- The History of Trick-or-TreatingHalloween is just around the corner and anyone that has kids or lives in a neighborhood with kids knows that Trick-or-Treating is a very popular Halloween activity. The history of it might surprise you though, it wasn...
- Trick-or-Treating Safety: From Well-Lit Areas to Candy ChecksThis article gives safety advice for parents to think about, before going trick or treating with their child.
- Make Trick or Treating a Safe and Happy Experience In 2008A guide for parents of Trick or Treaters for Halloween night. Some guidelines for homeowners who wish to participate to make trick or treating a fun and safe experience for all of the trick or treaters who come to th...
- The Lost Art of Trick or Treating
- Safe and Fun Halloween Alternatives to Trick or Treating
- Halloween in Pensacola Provides Plenty of Alternatives to Trick-or-Treating
- Alternative Trick-or-Treating Ideas for Children on Halloween
- Halloween Safety Tips for Trick or Treating
- Safety Tips for Halloween: Trick or Treating 2007
- How to Celebrate Halloween Without Trick or Treating: Alternatives for Kids
- A 12-year-old boy was shot and killed while trick or treating in Sumter, South Carolina.
- Quentin Patrick, 22, has been arrested in the Halloween shooting.
- A USC runner was also shot in an unrelated incident at a Halloween party.
19 Comments
Post a CommentWhoever the person who wrote that Sumter is not a high crime area needs to not be such an idiot. Sumter is full of idiots and the more of them, the more crime. Check out the crime rates compared to the country average. Sumter is a small community compared to most and is still 3x higher for violent crimes.
http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Sumter&state=SC
The facts don't lie
Sumter is not a high crime area! All areas are high crime if you really look at it. Stop being judgemental about placed. Just because one idiot shot a defenseless boy doesn't make this a high crime area. I really hate yuppies who think they are better than others
According to the Item (our local paper) the 22 year old who shot the little boy is finally standing trial! It's about effin time. Here's the link if anyone wants to check it out.
http://www.theitem.com/article/20090402/ITNEWS01/704029952/0/FRONTPAGE
Honestly, I am glad that justice is going to be done for little TJ. He (the culprit) lived not too far from me and when we heard the gunshots that night. I had just had my daughter only 11 days before that and I was freaking out so badly! But justice will be done soon...
This was a tragedy indeed, but do we no the other side to the story, I think not. Quentin Patrick was a very caring, and loving person just made a terrible mistake and yes we have all made mistakes weather it was as bad as his or not we are not the one to judge no man is perfect but God and he is the one who does the judging.
Yes, this was a very horrible incident but there is more to this story than told.Quentn Patrick is a very nice person he just feared for his life as well, we as people are standing on the outside looking in but there is a moral behind this and last but not least we have no power to judge and say what noone should be given for anything they do we should leave that up to God to do the judging.
Oh what a sad story :(
BG - There are always two sides to a story. Much more information has been released since this article (not blog) was published. Thank you for informing me and my readers.
U kno this is a terrible story but there is a whole lot missing from the story to. I live in sumter south carolina. I feel bad for the family of the child that died. My friend actually did his moms hair for the funeral and she sat and talked to us about what happened. I also in a way feel bad for Quentin because if the cops or any of the people commentin on this blog knew what that man has been through in the past year u would too. He will never b justified in what he did but as a man he was thinkin he was protecting his family. Like I said not justified but there is a lot more behind the story.
We had orders to Shaw AFB in Sumter, SC, and when we saw the crime stats we opted to retire rather than move to this high-crime area with our young daughter. Fortunately, our orders got cancelled before we had to take such a drastic, career-ending measure. It shocked me when I did the research, how high the crime is in Sumter. My heart and prayers go out to this family and their devestating loss.
i think that is ridiculous that a man would shoot through a door on Halloween night when there are children walking around
i hope he gets jailed for life