[Updated: Tue., Nov. 4, 2025, 10:25am]
The weekend before Halloween, UC Santa Barbara students showed out: parties, crowds, a concert, and dozens of emergency calls to Isla Vista. By the time the holiday itself arrived, things had quieted down, except for a curfew stop that resulted in the recovery of a stolen, loaded handgun.
According to public safety officials, the weekend of October 24-26 drew heavy traffic in and around UCSB’s student community, largely fueled by off-campus parties and a high-attendance campus concert. The Halloween weekend that followed — typically considered high-risk — saw little activity aside from the violation of nighttime curfew by five juveniles and an adult and the subsequent confiscation of a loaded .357 magnum revolver in one of their pants pockets.
On Saturday, October 25, rapper Freddie Gibbs and West Coast artist YG performed at Delirium, UCSB’s annual Halloween weekend concert, hosted by the Associated Students Program Board. More than 2,700 students attended the show at the Thunderdome.
“This concert generated four medical calls,” said Santa Barbara County Fire spokesperson Scott Safechuck in an interview with the Independent. “It was busier than previous concerts.”
Safechuck confirmed that two paramedic squads were staffed specifically for the event. No major injuries were reported.
That same weekend, Santa Barbara County Fire responded to 29 calls for service between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. on Thursday, October 24, with activity peaking between 11 p.m. and midnight. The following night, October 25, brought 24 additional calls during the same time period.
“Mostly alcohol or assault related,” Safechuck said. “No rescues, vehicle accidents, or fires reported.”
According to a November 3 press release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, the agency made 17 arrests and issued 80 citations between Friday, October 24, and Sunday, October 26. Just one arrest and 11 citations were made the following weekend, October 31 to November 2.
“Deputies encountered Halloween-related crowds the weekend prior to Halloween, noting that many partygoers appeared to shift their plans and celebrate the weekend before Halloween in an effort to avoid the outdoor festival ordinance’s restrictions,” the press release stated.
The heightened response was part of a long-standing strategy by county and university agencies to reduce the chaos that once defined Halloween in Isla Vista.
In 1986, UCSB was named a top party school by Playboy magazine, and Halloween weekend drew an estimated 25,000 visitors to the college town. After that, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed a November ordinance banning open containers and alcohol consumption in public spaces. In the decades that followed — particularly after the 2014 Deltopia riots and Isla Vista mass shooting — local law enforcement, campus officials, and the community itself doubled down on restrictions and resource deployment.
That strategy appeared to work again this year. On Halloween night itself — Friday, October 31 — officials reported no significant incidents.
But just after midnight on November 1, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies contacted a group of five juveniles and one adult at a beach access point near the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive. According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office:
“The juveniles were detained for violating the county’s nighttime curfew ordinance. During the investigation, one 16-year-old male juvenile consented to a search of his backpack, where deputies found several fixed-blade knives. Deputies then conducted a probable cause search of the juvenile and located a loaded .357 magnum revolver in his pants pocket.”
The gun was later confirmed to have been reported stolen out of Arizona. The 16-year-old was arrested and booked into Juvenile Hall, and the other juveniles were cited and released to their parents.
Despite the seriousness of the incident, officials still consider the weekend a success in terms of public safety.
“Nothing significant happened because there were law enforcement ordinances in place,” Safechuck said. “That’s why we upstaffed and had additional resources.”
The investigation into the curfew incident is ongoing.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to include arrest and citation statistics from the Sheriff’s Office.
