Looking up real estate values in the neighborhood (400K to 1.2M) I get the impression that this was a midlle to upper-middleclass neighborhood. Is that correct? Where did the thugs come from? Did somebody invite them, wanting to be "real"?
You are correct about the neighborhood. It's a very old neighborhood with pretty homes dating from every decade in the 20th century to the present decade.
This neighborhood is known in other 'hoods to be The place to trick or treat. "Kids" taller and bigger than you can imagine come here. We spend a fortune on candy, and when it runs out, it is often difficult to discourage people from still ringing the bell even after the porch lights are off and a sign "PLEASE DON'T RING BELL, BABY SLEEPING" on the door. (Of course we joke that we should have put the sign in Spanish...)
At the community meeting after the crime, people have said that this was the worst crowd from other areas they've seen, this year. One elderly man got up to speak and said how he enjoyed giving out candy to the kids for so many years, but when he ran out this year, the teens EGGED his house. He sadly said he would participate in Halloween no more.