2 Charged With Shooting Trick-or-Treat Youngster

Two suspected gang members were charged Monday with shooting a 12-year-old boy in the leg after trying to steal his Halloween mask and candy in South Los Angeles.

The suspects, ages 16 and 14, were charged with one count each of attempted murder with great bodily injury and attempted robbery. Prosectors said they will seek to try the 16-year-old, the alleged triggerman in the attack, as an adult. The defendants’ names were not disclosed because of their ages.

Prosecutors said that Fernando Castillo Jr. was shot on Halloween while walking with his parents and other trick-or-treaters on South Broadway near 42nd Street.

Police said a group of teen-agers, including the defendants, approached the trick-or-treaters and demanded the victim’s mask and candy. Castillo began to run and was shot once in the leg by the 16-year-old, prosecutors said.