On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 23, 1994, 16-year-old Melissa Ursula Fernandes was standing with classmates outside Ballard High School in Seattle, Washington, waiting for her mother when gunfire erupted. Members of the 23rd Street Diablos drove by the school intending to retaliate against the rival Bad Side Posse. A red Nissan slowed near a crowd and a 16-year-old passenger, Brian Ronquillo, opened fire. Melissa was struck and taken to Harborview Medical Center, where she died the following morning; another student was also wounded.

Seattle police arrested multiple people in the days after the shooting. Ronquillo was tried as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder; the driver, 19-year-old Cesar Sarausad, was convicted of second-degree murder; and Jerome Reyes, who had been chased from campus two days earlier and returned with reinforcements, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The case prompted extensive legal proceedings that included sentence reviews and appeals.