A New York man was arrested over the weekend after police said he pointed a gun at a 6-year-old boy who left Halloween treats on his porch by mistake.
Michael Wen, 43, was arrested on suspicion of menacing in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child in connection to the Saturday incident. According to Nassau County police, the 6-year-old boy and his family had mistaken Wen’s Long Island home for a friend’s house and left a “boo basket” as part of a lighthearted Halloween trend.
According to police, the boy and his family stopped at Wen’s address on Rockcrest Road so his 10-year-old sister could drop off a goody bag for her friend. Called ghosting or booing, kids leave treats at a friend or neighbor’s doorstep, ring the bell and run away. The practice has grown in recent years, and social media is full of guides to make the perfect boo bag and ads for treats.
According to police, the 6-year-old and his sister left the bag of candy, rang the doorbell and returned to their mom’s car. But after driving down the block, the daughter realized that they got the wrong address and returned to Wen’s home, police said.
When the children returned to the home to retrieve the boo bag, Wen opened the door and pointed a black handgun at the boy’s head, police said.
According to court documents cited by WNBC, Wen allegedly told the children, “get the fuck off my property” while he pointed his handgun.
William Zou, Wen’s attorney, told CBS New York that his client’s family have had recent incidents of teens banging on their door.
“I think what happened yesterday was totally a misunderstanding and a mistake,” Zou told the outlet. “He and his family has been terrorized recently by constant banging on his door.”
Zou told the outlet his client felt targeted and shared a recent video of an incident involving teens banging on Wen’s door.
“He just opened the door, react strongly, tell the person to get away from his property. By the time he realized it was a kid, he started to regret,” Zou told the outlet.
According to court records, Wen is set to appear in court on Nov. 13.