Teen charged in connection with killing of 2-year-old by Federal Way IHOP
Oct 17, 2024, 6:03 PM
A Federal Way Police Department vehicle. (Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
A teen was in King County Court Thursday regarding a Federal Way IHOP shooting that left a two-year-old boy dead in April.
The now 17-year-old is facing adult charges for allegedly shooting and killing the boy.
Previous coverage: 2-year-old in Federal Way dies from gunshot injuries
King County Prosecutors said Jayson Jack was 16 years old at the time of the shooting on the morning of April 4, 2024. They also said the shooting was targeted.
The father of the 2-year-old boy, the 2-year-old boy and his 1-year-old sibling were waiting in a car when prosecutors said Jack discovered their location.
‘The defendant arrived in that parking lot and began circling the victims’ vehicle, then fired fifteen rounds into the windshield,” Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecutor’s Office told KIRO Newsradio Thursday. “The father managed to pull his one-year-old down to the floorboard to keep him safe, but his two-year-old who was asleep in a child car seat was struck by at least one round and was killed.”
Jack faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, both with firearm enhancements, which could lead to longer sentences if he’s convicted. State law requires he be tried as an adult.
“Those crimes are determined by our state to be the most serious types of crimes that a juvenile can commit,” McNerthney said. “Those automatically go to adult court.”
Six months passed between the time of the shooting and Jack’s arrest earlier this month. Federal Way police unrelentingly led the investigation, which led to the charges.
“It takes significant time and resources and that’s what Federal Way Police put in here,” McNerthney said. “Prosecutors are able to file this case because of the work Federal Way Police provided us, that we could then bring to the court.”
More details: Teen, 17, arrested in April shooting death of 2-year-old child in Federal Way
Jack is held on $3,000,000 bail.
Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest
James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.
