11/1 9:21 PM: Halloween celebrations in San Francisco were mostly safe Saturday night, although police made a handful of arrests in various parts of the city, a police sergeant said today.
In the city’s Castro District, six people were arrested, including one for possession of an illegal weapon, one for robbery, one for an outstanding warrant, two for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and one for being drunk in public, police Sgt. Wilfred Williams said.
In the South of Market neighborhood, one person was cited for battery, three people were cited for open containers of alcohol, and three were cited for drinking in public, Williams said.
Elsewhere in the city, seven misdemeanor arrests were made, as well as 16 for people being drunk in public, according to Williams.
A 22-year-old San Francisco man was killed in the Bayview District in an incident not related to Halloween celebrations.
No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting, which occurred at about 7:50 p.m. near the intersection of Griffith Street and Navy Road, police said.
There have been problems historically on Halloween in San Francisco, particularly in the Castro District where five people were stabbed in 2004 and 2005, and in 2006 when nine people were shot.
The city instituted the Home for Halloween campaign in 2007 to curb the increased violence and vandalism, and no major acts of violence have been reported in the area the past three years.
11/01 6:47 AM: The San Francisco Police Department has released preliminary figures for the number of arrests made in the Castro and Mission districts during Halloween festivities Saturday night.
According to early reports, there were eight total arrests in the area, with most occurring in the Castro district, police said.
Five arrests were for public intoxication, one for possession of an illegal weapon, one for battery and one for driving under the influence.
The Castro district has historically been problematic on Halloween. Five people were stabbed there in 2004 and 2005, and nine people were shot in 2006.
Although no streets were closed for Halloween celebrations this year and citywide safety campaigns have been implemented since 2007, the Castro was expected to be a popular destination and potentially rowdy area.
More details reports of arrests are expected to available later today.
10/31 10:27 PM: San Francisco police have arrested four people at Halloween celebrations in the city’s Mission and Castro districts as of 10 p.m. today, a police sergeant said.
Police have arrested two people so far tonight for being drunk in public, according to police Sgt. Wilfred Williams.
A person was also arrested for battery, and another was arrested for illegal possession of a weapon, Williams said.
The city is in the third year of its Home for Halloween campaign, which started in 2007 to curb increased violence and vandalism that had occurred during the holiday.
There have been problems historically on Halloween in San Francisco, particularly in the Castro District where five people were stabbed in 2004 and 2005, and in 2006 when nine people were shot.
However, since the campaign was instituted, there have been no major acts of violence reported in the area the past two years.
San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty said in a statement tonight that “The charm and creativity of Halloweens past seems to have returned to the Castro.”
Halloween had been expected to be even quieter this year with the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge having been closed since Tuesday night due to emergency repairs, but Williams said it was “too early to make that determination yet.”
