On August 14, 2018, 14-year-old Onjeray ’OJ’ Devereaux died in a detached garage in Burien after a semiautomatic handgun discharged and struck him in the head. OJ, described as a kind-hearted athlete who wore number 1 on the youth football field, had been reconnecting with a childhood friend ahead of their freshman year of high school.

Police say OJ and a 16-year-old friend, Jonathan Anderson, were handling the gun and reportedly passing it back and forth when it fired. A 19-year-old witness later corroborated that the firearm was handled recklessly. Family members and court filings state the teenagers had been smoking marijuana before the shooting. Anderson ran to alert his grandparents after the shot and tried to help OJ; emergency crews transported OJ to a hospital where he died. Law enforcement described the death as a tragic accident.

Jonathan Anderson was arrested and booked into juvenile detention, then charged as an adult with first-degree manslaughter and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm; he pleaded not guilty at arraignment and bail was set at $100,000. Authorities asked the ATF to trace the handgun amid questions about its origin.