Jonathan Ares Mandegari-Kazemi, 13, was fatally wounded by a gunshot on March 27, 2025, in Irvine, California. First responders were dispatched at 2:42 p.m.; officers rendered aid but the boy died a short time later. Local reports and funeral notices identified him as a student at Southlake Middle School whose death deeply affected classmates and staff.

Investigators say Jonathan had gone with another boy to visit a friend at a home in the Heathergreen and Weepingwood area. Three juveniles and an adult woman were inside. Detectives found a handgun left unsecured and loaded on a bedroom nightstand belonging to the homeowner and recovered numerous other unsecured firearms from the same room. Their preliminary finding was that the wound was self-inflicted, but they did not immediately state whether it was accidental or intentional.

On March 28, 2025, police arrested 56-year-old Christian Douglas Yeager of Irvine, who officers said owned the firearms and was not home when the shooting occurred; he was booked on suspicion of criminal storage of a firearm and child endangerment as the investigation continued. The police coordinated with the school district to provide resources to Southlake Middle School. Did anyone in the Irvine area see the boys that afternoon or know more about how the gun was left within reach?