Can parents be charged when their kids commit gun crimes in WA? King County Prosecutors explain

According to King County prosecutors, holding parents criminally accountable when their children commit gun crimes is extremely difficult under current Washington state law, even as other states have begun pursuing such charges in high-profile school shootings.

Prompted by a Rainier Beach case in which a 15-year-old is accused of shooting and killing two other teenagers, Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, told “Seattle’s Morning News” that cases involving parental criminal liability are seldom even referred to prosecutors by law enforcement.

“If there was a way to charge a parent in any case for their kid’s bad behavior, it would be referred to us by police, and King County prosecutors would take action on it, but it’s pretty rare to have those even referred to us,” McNerthney said.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Gary Ernsdorff said the legal standard for criminal charges against a parent is far higher than many people realize.

“I think a lot of people think of civil liability,” Ernsdorff said. “When we’re talking about holding somebody criminally liable for the actions of another person, we have to have more than just a parent’s child possessing a gun. We have to show that somehow they were criminally liable for that juvenile’s actions, which is a pretty high standard.”

Civil v. criminal liability

McNerthney drew a distinction between civil and criminal liability, noting that while parents may face financial consequences through lawsuits, criminal prosecution requires a much heavier burden of proof.

“You can be a bad parent, but it’s hard to be held criminally liable,” McNerthney said. “The short way to say it is, it’s unlikely that other parents will be held criminally liable. But just like if your kid gets in a wreck in your car and there’s a civil suit against you, the same thing with a shooting — that’s where you’re really going to get it.”

2014’s Marysville shooting at Pilchuck High School

McNerthney pointed to the 2014 Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting in Snohomish County as an example of how difficult such cases are. In that case, the shooter used guns belonging to his father, who illegally possessed them. The father was charged and convicted federally of unlawful gun possession, but the jury never heard about the school shooting itself.

“Seattle’s Morning News” co-host Charlie Harger, who responded to the Marysville Pilchuck scene, said the experience left a lasting mark.

“As a person who was early on the scene of the Marysville Pilchuck shooting, seeing the looks of terror, the looks of panic in the eyes of those parents — those are images you can’t get out of your brain,” Harger said.

Harger noted that other states have begun charging parents in school shooting cases and suggested Washington lawmakers consider similar legislation.

“Maybe it’s time for our state legislature to start thinking about that,” Harger said. “That would be a heck of a motivator, I think, for a lot of parents, if they knew they could be in serious, serious trouble — not just financially, but go-to-jail, go-to-prison trouble.

McNerthney expressed hope that any legislative action would come before another tragedy, not after one.

“Clearly, whatever we have right now isn’t scaring parents enough,” Harger said. “And maybe a change could be made.”

Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here. 

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