Drunken zombie Santa woke up in strangers' home

An intoxicated stranger dressed as a zombie Santa Claus terrified two teenagers when he entered their home in Minneapolis–Saint Paul over the weekend. A 14-year-old boy fled from the Macalester-Groveland house to get help and his 16-year-old sister locked herself in a bathroom, said a neighbour, Margaret Marrinan, who is also a Ramsey County judge. "This guy ought to be examining his conscience ... for what he did to those kids," she said.

The children were scared but are fine now, Tom Sullivan, their father, said on Monday. "The police did a nice job of calming them down and explaining the individual meant no harm," he said. "Fortunately, it had a happy ending, and no one will ever think of Santa the same way. If you're going to have a break-in, this is the best kind - someone who means no harm and was looking for a place to sleep."



Police cited a man who is a University of St. Thomas senior for trespassing. The university is about six blocks from the home. A police report didn't say where the man was coming from. Officers were called to the home at 9:45pm on Saturday. They were told that a man had entered the residence wearing a Santa suit and looking like a zombie, said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a St. Paul police spokesman.

The man had vomited and didn't know where he was when police woke him up, Paulos said. Police cited Brock Quinn Johnson of Roseville for trespassing and took him to the detoxification centre, Paulos said. Marrinan said she saw the man when he was brought to a squad car and the boy's description was right - he was dressed like Santa and looked like a zombie. He wasn't wearing a mask, and Marrinan suspected that makeup caused the zombie effect. Sullivan and Marrinan said their area is normally quiet.