Mayor and Supervisor Candidates Speak Out on Castro Shooting

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)  -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has planned a meeting with the police chief and other city leaders about last night’s violent Castro Halloween party. He said the meeting will review several options, such as charging admission or canceling the event, to make sure something similar never happens.

"We anticipated the worst case scenario, but now we've redefined the worst case scenario by what occurred last night. None of us could have imagined upward of ten people being shot. It is terrible, what happened," said Newsom.

Supervisor candidates in the Castro district are also speaking out about the Halloween violence, criticizing how police handled security and considering whether to call off future Halloween parties.

"We did everything possible we could," said incumbent Beven Duffy, as he stood across the street from the crime scene.

Opponent Alix Rosenthal disagrees. "The plan was badly conceived and badly executed," she said.

Earlier this month Rosenthal criticized Duffy as being part of the “old guard” who wanted more strict rules for the party. "We need better crowd control at the gates, absolutely,” said Rosenthal. “We don't need 20 entry points. We need two entry points at the most, we need everybody to be frisked on their way in."

Duffy questions whether security measures will ever be enough, and stopped just short of saying it’s time to call the yearly Halloween bash off.

"I don't want to be premature. I don't want to unilaterally call for something because what I've done is been in concert with the neighbors and merchants of this neighborhood but I think it is obviously an option."

(RdD)