Hundreds attend College Park neighborhood trick-or-treat event secured by police

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. - College Park Police lined the streets of Rugby Avenue Tuesday night, where hundreds of trick-or-treaters flocked to the neighborhood for its annual Halloween celebration.

Residents told FOX 5 that extra police presence made their Halloween night feel safer.

"Doing this, I feel like it’s much safer because it’s a community thing," Ashley Hawkins said.

She and others who made their way to the neighborhood’s trunk-or-treat were glad the spookiest night of the year didn’t come with any real scares.

"All the residents, the houses, they’re very nice, very friendly…it’s pretty much always safe, it’s always a heavy police presence," she said.

Almost a dozen units from the College Park Police Department were on duty as ghouls and ghosts roamed the streets.

"Most areas you don’t see this," another woman told FOX 5.

Hawkins said she chose to bring her god-daughter to Rugby Avenue over her own neighborhood for safety reasons.

"Sometimes when you’re in your regular neighborhood going door to door, it’s not really safe…you don’t know who’s in that house or coming to your house," she explained.

Hawkins told FOX 5 she’s grateful the neighborhood provides a safe space for trick-or-treaters year after year.