Good evening, everyone. Tonight we are addressing a homicide that took place in the Fremont neighborhood ending in mass casualties of a 70-count assortment of Halloween candy. We are sad to report that some of the fatalities were snack-size.
At approximately 2000 hours, the Millerville Police Department received a call to the address of 3256 Peterson Avenue. The distressed caller dressed in a Batman costume reported a suspicious lack of home activity at the residence. The child reported ringing the doorbell several times and then proceeded to knock-knock. However, there was still no reported movement from the suspect inside the home despite a Honda CRV seen parked in the driveway.
The individual refused to emerge from the residence and provide children, estimated roughly between the ages of 7 and 10 and dressed in various costumes from a local Target, free candy on Halloween. As a result, our forces arrived at the scene in two minutes, 25 minutes faster than when we arrive at murder scenes.
Once we arrived at the suspect’s home, we had our Chief Detective, Rob Smith, who has over 40 years of Halloween candy hostage experience, lead the call. Over the course of several hours, Detective Smith learned more about the prime perpetrator to find a motive. The perpetrator has been ID’d as Mike Malone, a 45-year-old single man.
Speaking with his friends and family, it’s been revealed the perpetrator has a reported history of choosing the contactless delivery option for DoorDash, and has shown difficulties talking with his friends’ younger kids. There was one confirmed instance of Malone offering a handshake to his friend Josh’s 1-year old son.
Attempts by MPD were made to persuade Mr. Malone into putting down the 70-count assortment, turning on his outdoor light, and leaving a bowl of candy outside with a skeleton hand placed inside and a note that says “Only Take One.” The perpetrator rejected any offerings of peaceful exchange for the chocolate hostages. While our team communicated to the perpetrator that he would not be met with tricks, the situation quickly turned violent and Mr. Malone threatened to devour each hostage. Despite a skilled negotiation team led by Detective Smith, at 2300 hours Mr. Malone took the stash and killed them in a binge.
Immediately following the attack, Mr. Malone suffered a sugar crash followed by a tummy ache. The perpetrator was offered Tums as well as Pepto Bismol but requested further medical examination and was taken by ambulance to South Methodist Hospital for further testing. He is in stable condition and has been placed on a BRAT diet, and is expected to make a full recovery.
This is an open, ongoing investigation. We would like to acknowledge that this is a tragedy on both sides, and that this is not a time for division. MPD continues to interview the individuals involved in the dispute. Our number one priority is ensuring that the trick-or-treaters do not retaliate with any tricks, and that there is opportunity for Mr. Malone to rehabilitate and re-enter society equipped with the tools to experience Halloween in its full capacity.
In response to the incident, MPD and the city of Millerville have partnered with a local Hershey’s office branch to launch “Operation Talk to Children.” The movement’s goal is to prepare nervous individuals incapable of having a 10-second interaction with children for one night a year through Halloween-specific roleplay. Together, we hope that this initiative will drive down disturbing incidents like this for future Halloweens.
The Millerville Police Department realizes that the trick-or-treaters of the community are sure to be rattled. We have been working tirelessly to quell any acts of retaliation by trick-or-treaters involving tricks, and will be offering free counseling for those trick-or-treaters who have been shortchanged a treat.
This will be a decades-long process of rebuilding, but is imperative for the safety of our community. To reiterate, there is currently no active threat of any tricks, nor any ongoing treat refusals from socially-avoidant adults. Thank you.