Seven Shot In Castro

Seven people were shot during last night’s annual massive Halloween celebration in San Francisco’s Castro district. Police also reported a stabbing and a sexual assault. For years, local gay activists and merchants have been complaining about the “unofficial” event in the Castro, as it brings up to 500,000 mostly-straight people into the gayborhood, some of whom are aggressive and violent. When I lived in SF, there were some scary incidents that caused most of my friends to refuse to go anywhere near the Castro on Halloween night. Last week the Bay Area Reporter called the Halloween party the most controversial issue in the city’s supervisors race. It’s a shame that gay people can’t/won’t even go into their own neighborhood on such a festive night as Halloween, but obviously the Castro event is now over.