A 14-year-old Glenelg boy was stabbed with a penknife Sunday after he chased down another youth who stole his friend's Halloween candy, Howard County police said.
The incident was one of seven Halloween-related street robberies Howard County police are investigating. In most cases, the thieves punched trick-or-treaters in the face or pushed them to the ground before taking their candy, police said.
The Glenelg teen was trick-or-treating with another 14-year-old from Clarksville in the 4100 block of Sharp Road at 9:10 p.m. Sunday when the suspect snatched the Clarksville boy's bag and ran.
The Glenelg youth gave chase and was stabbed in the leg after a fight. He refused treatment from police.
The suspect's mother turned him in to police while officers interviewed the victim at his home. Police took the suspect, a 13-year-old Glenelg youth, into custody and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and carrying a concealed deadly weapon. The youth was later released into his mother's custody.
While bag snatching is not unusual on Halloween, police said the stabbing raises a safety issue.
"Parents should take a little more concern when they send their children out," said police spokesman Sgt. Gary Gardner.
Three of the incidents took place in Long Reach village in Columbia, police said.
* Four suspects wearing hockey masks struck a youth and stole candy early Sunday evening in the 4900 block of Footed Ridge, police said.
* One youth was punched and robbed of his candy by a group of nine males in the 9100 block of Helaine Hamlet. One of the suspects wore a skeleton mask, police said.
* A group of youngsters near the intersection of Lambskin Lane and Bronze Bell Circle were struck and robbed of their candy Sunday by a group of 15 males and females, police said.
The other incidents, all in Columbia, include:
* A group of 15 males, many of them wearing black bandannas, hit a trick-or-treater and took his candy in the 7100 block of Talisman Lane in Owen Brown village, police said.
* A youth was struck and robbed of candy in the 9500 block of Kilimanjaro Road in Oakland Mills village, police said.
* A would-be thief struck a trick-or-treater and attempted to take the youth's bag of candy in the 11700 block of Bright Passage in Hickory Ridge village, police said.