On July 30, 2016, a

mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...

occurred during a house party held by students of the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and

Kamiak High School Kamiak High School is a public high school in Mukilteo, Washington, United States. It was the second high school in the Mukilteo School District when it opened on September 8, 1993. The first and only high school within Mukilteo city limits, it ...

in the community of

Mukilteo Mukilteo ( ) is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located on the Puget Sound between Edmonds, Washington, Edmonds and Everett, Washington, Everett, approximately north of Seattle. The city had a population of 20,254 ...

, a suburb of

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

. Three people were killed and one person was injured. Afterwards, the gunman fled the scene. Ninety minutes after the shooting, a suspect, identified as 19-year-old Allen Christopher Ivanov, was arrested near

Chehalis Chehalis may refer to: People * Chehalis people, a Native American people of Washington state **Lower Chehalis language **Upper Chehalis language * Sts'Ailes people (Chehalis people), a First Nation in British Columbia * Chehalis First Nation, Bri ...

. On August 2, he was charged with aggravated murder, attempted murder, and assault; and he pleaded not guilty to all of the charges on August 22. On December 19, 2016, to avoid the death penalty, Ivanov waived his right to appeal his sentence and pleaded guilty to the killings. On January 12, 2017, Ivanov was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The shooting led to calls for

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

Shooting

Before the shooting, a house party was being held in Mukilteo. About fifteen to twenty university and high school students, most of them graduates, were in attendance. The gunman arrived at the party at around 10:00 p.m. and observed the party unarmed. After some time, he retrieved his rifle, crept around the side of the house, and concealed himself along a wall near the living room. He was discovered by Jacob Long, who he shot and killed just after midnight. Jake was hit 3 times in the back after saying "no, no, no". He collapsed and died next to the pathway on the ground. Ivanov continued firing outside, wounding Will Kramer but Will was able to escape by crawling away. Attention turned towards Jordan Ebner who was also shot outside. Ivanov then walked in through patio doors to where Anna Bui was sitting at a kitchen table. He shot her multiple times point blank with some shots hitting her face. Afterwards, the gunman went upstairs to a balcony on the master bedroom, and began firing down onto two men, grazing the leg of the young man, whose parents owned the house. The two men escaped. During the shooting, some survivors hid and contacted their relatives. A total of three people were killed and one other person was injured. Right after the shooting, the suspect fled the house after realizing he had run out of ammunition. Local detectives tracked him down by pinging his cellphone and contacting the

Washington State Patrol The Washington State Patrol (WSP) is the state patrol agency for the U.S. state of Washington. Organized as the Washington State Highway Patrol in 1921, it was renamed and reconstituted in 1933. The agency is charged with the protection of the Gov ...

for assistance. Ninety minutes later, he was arrested without incident by state troopers on an interstate near

, over away from the crime scene. An AR-15-type rifle and two

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

were recovered from his vehicle.

Perpetrator and victims

Perpetrator

Allen Christopher Ivanov, a 19-year-old software engineer and student at the

University of Washington Bothell The University of Washington Bothell (UW Bothell) is a branch campus of University of Washington in Bothell, Washington. It was founded in 1989 and is located just northwest of the junction of Interstate 405 and State Route 522, and it shares ...

, was identified as the suspect in the shooting. Days before the shooting, he made troubling posts on his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account and also posted

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

photos of a rifle and three bullets. He was reportedly familiar to those who attended the party. According to a

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

profile, Ivanov attended

from 2011 to 2015, and was the founder of a company that described itself as "an open source

laser tag Laser tag is a recreational shooting sport where participants use infrared-emitting light guns to tag designated targets. Infrared-sensitive signaling devices are commonly worn by each player to register hits and are sometimes integrated wit ...

system". About a week before the shooting, Ivanov purchased the rifle he used, and then purchased a second

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

on the day prior. According to court documents, right before committing the shooting, Ivanov read the rifle's manual. He also sent text messages to his friends, including one in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, alluding to his plans to commit a mass shooting a couple of days beforehand, calling himself a "future shooter". Police say he was motivated by the recent breakup between him and one of the victims, and his anger that his ex-girlfriend seemed to be moving along in her life.

Victims

The victims were identified as: *Anna Bui, 19, a

student from Everett, who was also reportedly Ivanov's ex-girlfriend.Alt URL
/ref> *Jordan Ebner, 19, of

Lake Stevens Lake Stevens is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States, that is named for the lake it surrounds. It is located east of Everett and borders the cities of Marysville to the northwest and Snohomish to the south. The city's popula ...

. *Jake Long, 19, of Everett. *Will Kramer, 18, a

student from Mukilteo who was seriously injured and taken to

Harborview Medical Center Harborview Medical Center is a public hospital located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is managed by UW Medicine. Overview Harborview Medical Center is the designated Disaster Control Hospital for Seattl ...

for treatment. He was released from the hospital on August 15.

Legal proceedings

After his arrest, police said Ivanov confessed to committing the shooting, but initially added that it was an accident, and that he had been confused that night and therefore not thinking straight. He was held in Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of one count of aggravated first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree murder, and one count of attempted first-degree murder. During a court appearance on August 1, Ivanov's lawyer questioned the ease of his client to legally purchase an

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...

with a

high-capacity magazine A high-capacity magazine (or large-capacity magazine) is a magazine capable of holding more than the usual number of rounds of ammunition for a particular firearm. A magazine may also be defined as high-capacity in a legal sense, based on the nu ...

while he is still not legally able to drink alcohol. Ivanov was not granted bail. On the next day, he was charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and one charge of first-degree assault. On August 22, he pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. His next court appearance was scheduled on December 19. On that day, Ivanov pleaded guilty to the killings, reportedly before prosecutors had made a decision on whether or not to pursue a death sentence against him. On January 12, 2017, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Ivanov is currently imprisoned in the

Washington State Penitentiary Washington State Penitentiary (also called the Walla Walla State Penitentiary) is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Walla Walla, Washington. With an operating capacity of 2,200, it is the second largest priso ...

Reactions

Mayor Jennifer Gregerson said that the Mukilteo community was "shaken to its core". Governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...

sent his condolences to the victims' families and the survivors, praised the actions of law enforcement, and declared his support for Mukilteo during the investigation. The

also released a statement in reaction to the shooting. A total of 200 people attended a vigil at

on the day after the shooting. Another vigil was held at a local church, which was attended by 800 people, including Governor Inslee, who made a statement mentioning gun violence in the country. The flags at Mukilteo City Hall were lowered to

half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...

. On August 26, people familiar with the victims gathered to organize a benefit concert for their families. Following the shooting, an alliance, titled Mukilteo Strong Alliance, was formed by Mukilteo residents. Its plans were to create a permanent memorial in honor of the victims, as well as finding ways for the community to heal and move forward. Its first meeting was held on September 20 and attended by family and friends of the victims, non-profit organizations, and counselors. On September 7,

Washington Attorney General The Attorney General of Washington is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Washington and head of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general represents clients of the state and defends the public interest i ...

Bob Ferguson cited the shooting when he called on the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senat ...

to pass a state law barring the sales of

assault weapon In the United States, ''assault weapon'' is a controversial term used to define firearms with specified characteristics. The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magaz ...

s like the one used in the shooting, restricting

carrying over ten rounds, and requiring persons buying ammunition to undergo a background check, saying such a measure "will save lives". The parents of injured victim Will Kramer, who are supporters of a Washington-based

advocacy group, urged people to remember the victims of gun violence and for lawmakers to support Ferguson's proposal. The proposal received opposition from the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukilteo shooting Attacks in the United States in 2016 Deaths by firearm in Washington (state) 2016 mass shootings in the United States Mass shootings in the United States

Mass shootings in Washington (state)