On a summer day in August 2017, 24-year-old Jose Ismael Hernandez-Soto of Selah, Washington, was shot and killed in downtown Spokane after a firearm discharged inside a car. He had been visiting Spokane with his girlfriend, her 16-year-old brother, and a friend; they had spent time at Riverfront Park and the mall before returning to their vehicle near Washington Street and Main Avenue. As the girlfriend entered an address into the GPS, Hernandez-Soto — seated in the driver’s seat — asked the teenager to hand him a black rifle the teen had brought.

A single gunshot wounded Hernandez-Soto in the abdomen; he was pronounced dead at the scene and the Spokane County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause as a single gunshot wound. Witnesses told police the shooting was a tragic accident and the teen said he thought the safety was on. The 16-year-old was later charged with second-degree manslaughter.