AUBURN, Wash. — Less than a month after a teenager was shot and killed in Auburn – his mother is on a mission to hold parents accountable for their children’s actions, especially when it comes to firearms.
Lonnisha Landry knows her oldest son, 15-year-old Xavier Landry, was shot and killed; she doesn’t know who pulled the trigger – but suspects it was a teenager.
“I try not to cry as much because I had a lot of great memories with him. He was a huge light in our house. A huge light in our hearts,” Landry said.
Xavier was killed on July 12 in Auburn. Two weeks after her son’s death, Landry attended a parade in Seattle’s Chinatown International District where three teenagers were arrested, accused of brandishing pistols. All three teens were in possession of handguns, two of which were reported stolen and had been modified to be fully automatic, according to Seattle police.
The teens were arrested and held in juvenile detention but were eventually released to home monitoring.
“It really weighed heavy on me when the judge released three children that were literally caught with guns at a parade,” Landry said.
The mourning mother hit a breaking point – pain turned to activism, and she launched a Change.org petition calling on parents to be held “accountable for the criminal activities of their juvenile, particularly when involving guns and modified weapons.”
“I’m hopeful that once the parents see that they can be held responsible they just start to take more control. I feel that if we come together as parents and we say ‘enough is enough’ things will change,” Landry said.
It's an idea that’s had some traction in recent months. Earlier this year, in April, for the first time ever, the parents of a mass shooter were convicted of a crime committed by their teenage son. A Michigan couple sentenced to more than a decade behind bars for a shooting in 2021 that claimed four lives.
"While you were running away from your son and your responsibilities. I was forced to do the worst possible thing a parent could do. I was forced to say goodbye to my Madison," the mother of one of the victims told the shooter’s parents in court.
According to a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office, a similar conviction in Washington state may be more challenging. The state has no strict liability law holding a parent accountable for the actions of their children -- meaning the state must show the court criminal negligence on behalf of the parents.
Landry argues there’s room for change.
“I’m going to push through for my son and I’m going to push through for other people’s sons and other people's daughters because we don’t deserve this,” Landry said.
Xavier’s mother is hopeful that someone someday soon will be held accountable for the shooting that killed her son. Should the shooter be a child, she prays that the child’s parents will face justice someday as well.
Mother of teen shot, killed in Auburn calls for more accountability for parents if their kids commit crimes
Lonnisha Landry launched a Change.org petition calling on parents to be held accountable if their kids commit crimes, especially involving guns and modified weapons.