Michael Bingham Montoya was 19 when he was fatally shot on June 1, 2018, in his home on 29th Place South in SeaTac, Washington. A 16-year-old friend was handling a firearm that discharged once; the bullet struck Michael in the head. Emergency responders arrived but Michael died at the scene.

Family and friends remembered Michael as kind-hearted, joyful, silly and energetic. A candlelight vigil was held and his mother, Melissa Montoya, publicly expressed the family’s heartbreak. The King County Sheriff’s Office investigated; the teen who fired the weapon was taken into custody but detectives concluded the shooting was an accidental discharge and found no evidence of intent, so no murder charges were filed.