On a Thursday afternoon in Kennewick, Washington, 13-year-old Joseph Tomas Ramirez Martinez, a Hispanic male, was at a friend's house on East Conway Street with two other teens. It was February 29, 2024, a day that would end in tragedy. Inside the home, one of the teenagers, 14-year-old Christopher Silva Morales, found a gun in an unlocked safe. As he was handling the pistol, it discharged, firing a single bullet that struck Joseph in the neck.
The other teen present immediately called 911 while Silva Morales attempted to stop the bleeding.
Kennewick police and medics arrived at the home to find the three teenagers and Joseph suffering from a significant amount of blood loss. He was rushed to a local hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries overnight. An autopsy later confirmed that Joseph died from a single gunshot wound. The Benton County Coroner's Office ruled the manner of death a homicide, a classification that indicates the death was caused by another person but does not automatically imply a crime was committed. All three boys were students at Horse Heaven Hills Middle School.
For months, Joseph's mother, Sandra Ramirez, publicly called for accountability in her son's death, expressing her frustration with the pace of the investigation. Nearly seven months after the shooting, the Benton County Prosecutor's Office filed charges against Christopher Silva Morales. He is facing first and second-degree manslaughter charges in the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Court. According to court documents, Silva Morales was pointing the gun around the room when it fired. The case will remain in juvenile court under Washington state law, and Silva Morales remains out of custody pending his court appearance.
Joseph was remembered by his family as a loving, caring, and trusting individual who enjoyed being outdoors, playing basketball, and had a dream of becoming a professional NBA player. A GoFundMe was organized to support his family, raising nearly $11,000. His mother has also started selling merchandise with the motto "Gun Safety Matters" to raise money for legal costs as she considers a civil lawsuit against the parents of the teen where the shooting occurred.
