Gunmen in Halloween masks pistol-whip, shoot couple who thought it was a prank
A married couple who were outside their Orinda home assumed it was a prank when two men in Halloween masks demanded their cash, but they learned it was real when they were pistol-whipped and shot, police said.
Carol Brown and her husband, Tom Spalding, were followed driving from the grocery store Monday night to their home east of Berkeley, police said.
As the couple unloaded their car, two men in Halloween masks walked up to them and told them to “give it up,” the couple’s son, Micah Spalding, told KGO.
“My parents weren’t taking it seriously at first because they didn’t expect it. They thought it was me joking around or something,” Spalding said. “Once they saw the guns, they realized it was real.”
My parents weren’t taking it seriously at first because they didn’t expect it. They thought it was me joking around or something,
— Micah Spalding, the couple’s son
Spalding said one of the men was wearing a pig-snout mask. He did not describe what type of mask the second gunman was wearing.
After the men pulled their guns, Tom Spalding said he handed over his wallet and was pistol-whipped in the head.
“Meanwhile, Carol still thought it was a joke and was fighting to keep her purse, which had her brand-new phone in it and all her vacation photos on it. So the guy shot her twice,” he told KGO.
Brown was struck in the pelvis and arm but is expected to survive, KGO reported. The men escaped while Brown’s husband ran inside to call police and her son ran outside to see what had happened.
Orinda police Chief Mark Nagel told reporters the couple may have been followed from the grocery store or perhaps even earlier.
“Whether you’re in a parking lot at the BART station, or any shopping area, anyone can be a victim,” Nagel said. “It’s important to always look around and see what’s around you.”
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
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