On a February day in 1996 at Frontier Junior High School in Moses Lake, Washington, 14-year-old Manuel Vela Jr. was shot and killed during his fifth-period Algebra class. A fellow 14-year-old student, Barry Loukaitis, entered the classroom armed with a rifle and two handguns and opened fire. The attack also killed another student, Arnie Fritz, and their teacher, Leona Caires; a third student, Natalie Hintz, was wounded but survived.

The shooter held classmates hostage until gym teacher Jonathan Lane subdued and disarmed him, ending the siege. Loukaitis was arrested at the scene, tried as an adult, convicted on multiple counts including murder and kidnapping, and given a lengthy prison sentence. The town of Moses Lake was left to cope with the loss and trauma from the school shooting.