LI man points gun at 6-year-old taking part in Halloween ‘booing’ tradition

Man points gun at 6-year-old on Long Island

A Long Island man is under arrested after he allegedly pulled a gun on a six-year-old who mistakenly left Halloween candy on his porch. FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg walks us through what allegedly happened and the outrage that followed.

MANHASSET, N.Y. - Police say a Long Island man pulled a gun on a young boy after the child mistakenly left Halloween treats on his porch.

Nassau County Police said 43-year-old Michael Wen is accused of pointing a gun at the 6-year-old’s head when he tried to retrieve a bag of candy his sister may have left on the wrong porch Saturday night.

Two people close to family, who didn’t want to be identified by name, detailed what they knew about the events to FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg.

"The kid is just traumatized," one source said. "He couldn’t sleep last night. It was very scary."

The sources said the child's mother drove her kids and nephew to this house on Rockcrest Road in Manhasset to take part in a Halloween tradition known as "boo-ing."

According to Hallmark, "a boo is an anonymous goodie bag that you leave on someone’s front doorstep."

The woman's daughter then walked up to her friend's house, rang the doorbell and left the "boo basket" on the doorstep.

"[The daughter] thought it was the wrong house and then was texting her friend to make sure … by the time she answered, they already came back to retrieve the candy," the family friends told Goldberg.

Thinking his sister had made a mistake, the 6-year-old boy walked onto Wen's porch to look for the goodie bag. That’s when police say Wen pulled the gun and yelled an expletive to get off his property

"You open the door, and you point a gun at him? He’s 6-years-old. He’s a little twig," the source said.

The 43-year-old, who faces charges including endangering the welfare of a child, pleaded not guilty. No one answered the door at Wen’s house when FOX 5 NY knocked Monday afternoon.

His attorney, William Zou, told FOX 5 NY he’d known Wen for two decades and called the incident a misunderstanding. He said his client, a married man and loving father, has been on edge.

He shared surveillance showing two strangers banging on his door the night before.

"His family was terrorized by this banging. He has three minor kids, and they were worried someone may break in," Zou said. "He’s regretful for what happened."

With Halloween on Tuesday, neighbors are worried about trick-or-treaters going to Wen’s house. Officials said all of his guns had been seized.

Police said Wen’s gun license has been suspended, and he was issued an order of protection.