‘Can we change the narrative?’: King County prosecutor pushes to tighten WA’s juvenile gun law amid Bite of Seattle fallout

King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion is pushing to tighten Washington’s juvenile gun laws amid fallout from a gang-related mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle last month.

Manion told “The Gee and Ursula Show” that her office wants to reduce the number of convictions needed before a juvenile is eligible for a sentence greater than 30 days.

“It is five convictions of unlawful possession of a firearm before they are eligible for a sentence greater than 30 days of detention at our local detention facility,” Manion said. “And so we are working with lawmakers in hopes of changing that to the third conviction, because we are trying to provide interventions and appropriate accountability earlier in time.”

Manion said the law is based on the notion that the state knows more about juvenile behavior and intentions, and that rehabilitation is proven to work. However, she argued that three convictions should be enough to trigger meaningful intervention, not five.

“What I’m trying to say is, can we change the narrative so that instead of saying to young people, ‘Carrying a gun is no big deal,’ we bring that kind of awareness much earlier?” Manion said. “We also know that sometimes juveniles do make stupid choices, and I’m not saying that that’s OK. But I’m saying we could provide services in 30 days, and for many juveniles, that’s going to be fine. And for some people, maybe it takes two. But by the third unlawful conviction of a firearm, we really need to make sure that we ramp up the interventions.”

Prosecutors seek to try Bite of Seattle shooting suspect as adult

Manion’s comments came in the wake of the Bite of Seattle shooting, where a 15-year-old was arrested in connection with the shooting that killed three people and injured at least four. Manion said prosecutors are working to try the teen as an adult.

“We have charged this individual with assault one in the first degree, with a firearm enhancement, and also unlawful possession of a firearm,” she said. “And we have also filed the appropriate paperwork to seek decline of juvenile jurisdiction.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.