On February 29, 2024, 13-year-old Joseph Tomas Ramirez Martinez was at a friend’s house on East Conway Street in Kennewick, Washington, when a handgun found in an unlocked safe discharged. One of the other teenagers present, 14-year-old Christopher Silva Morales, was handling the pistol; it fired a single bullet that struck Joseph in the neck. He was transported to a local hospital but died overnight; an autopsy confirmed a single gunshot wound and the Benton County Coroner’s Office ruled the manner of death homicide.

All three boys were students at Horse Heaven Hills Middle School. Silva Morales has been charged in Benton-Franklin Juvenile Court with first- and second-degree manslaughter; court documents say he was pointing the gun around the room when it fired. The case is being handled in juvenile court and Silva Morales remains out of custody pending his appearance.

Joseph’s family remembered him as loving, trusting, and athletic, with a dream of playing in the NBA. A GoFundMe raised nearly $11,000 for the family, and his mother, Sandra Ramirez, began selling merchandise with the motto Gun Safety Matters as she weighs a possible civil suit against the homeowners. Does anyone have information about the safe, the house, or the events that afternoon?