Quentin Patrick apparently forgot it was Halloween. But he may have made himself into a monster anyway.

When trick-or-treaters knocked on his Sumter, S.C., house Friday night, the 22-year-old ex-convict allegedly emptied 30 rounds from an AK-47 through the door and wall, killing 12-year-old T.J. Darrisaw and wounding the youngster's father and 9-year-old brother.

Patrick allegedly thought he was being robbed, which he apparently was nearly a year ago.

But in truth, there is absolutely no excuse for what happened. Zero. And what in the world is an ex-convict doing with an AK-47 assault rifle?

So often, shooting victims did something to put themselves in harm's way. All little T.J. and his brother did was trick or treat. You can't find a more unalloyed tragedy than this one.