Everett Teen Fatally Shot in Pre-Dawn Gang-Related Shooting
A 15-year-old boy was killed in a pre-dawn ambush at a south Everett school bus stop on September 8, 2023, after a gunman opened fire during the second day of the new school year.
Surveillance footage captured a stolen black Kia Sedona circling the area near Hardeson Road for roughly 30 minutes before a passing vehicle sprayed gunfire around 6:30 a.m., striking the group of students gathered at the stop.
Bryan Tamayo-Franco sustained over a dozen gunshot wounds. First responders’ body camera recordings showed him breathing laboriously, calling for his mother, and pleading for his life before being transported to a local hospital, where he passed away later that day. Others at the scene remained unharmed.
On Thursday, Victor Torres-Zuniga, 22, known by the nickname *Scar*, was convicted of first-degree murder and several counts of first-degree assault, emerging as the sole defendant to face a jury after his co-defendant accepted a plea deal.
The four-week trial in Snohomish County Superior Court centered on a widening conflict between two neighborhood gangs: Vatos Locos Surenos and Sur Town Rascals. Prosecutors described the shooting not as impulsive, but as a calculated retaliation carried out by a member of the Vatos Locos Surenos.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Michelle Larson opened the case by emphasizing the deliberate nature of the killing, noting it occurred precisely three years after the victim’s death. Over 50 witnesses testified, including two gang members now serving prison time, who outlined the chain of incidents leading to the fatal encounter.
Investigators identified Torres-Zuniga and Uriel Hernandez-Martinez, 23, as active participants in Vatos Locos Surenos, while Tamayo-Franco, affectionately called *Hitter*, stood with Sur Town Rascals. Hernandez-Martinez entered a guilty plea in 2025 to second-degree murder as part of an agreement that included his cooperation against Torres-Zuniga.
Prosecutors asserted the shooting was directly tied to an earlier gunfight involving Tamayo-Franco and a Vatos Locos associate just days before the killing.
“He wasn’t just a kid caught in the crossfire, he was the intended target,” said deputy prosecuting attorney William Doyle during closing arguments, underscoring that Tamayo-Franco’s age did not diminish his role in the gang dynamics.
Defense attorneys contended Torres-Zuniga was unfairly singled out, citing gaps in the investigation and pointing to other individuals who could have harbored motives to kill him. Carlos Gonzales, one of the defense attorneys, noted that when investigations remain incomplete, “the State’s narrative fills the gaps, and Victor becomes the face of the offense.”
The feud that led to Tamayo-Franco’s death reportedly intensified after Hernandez-Martinez was shot in March 2023 by someone linked to Sur Town Rascals. Throughout the following months, tensions escalated, with public social media posts, including threats posted by Vatos Locos members, targeting Tamayo-Franco and his peers.
Prosecutors allege that prior to the fatal incident, the defendant painted his gang affiliation on a fence directly across from the victim's residence. During the weeks leading up to the shooting, he also uploaded two diss tracks to SoundCloud targeting Vatos Locos Surenos.
The victim's mother took the stand to recount calling law enforcement on several occasions in August 2023. She reported one instance after discovering a firearm in her son's bedroom, and another weeks later when a group arrived at her home carrying bats in search of the defendant.
Defense attorney Gabriel Banfi told jurors during opening statements that his client was one of many individuals who had conflicts with Bryan Tamayo-Franco.
Violence escalated in early September 2023, according to the prosecution's timeline. On the evening of Sept. 6, sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a shooting report at a south Snohomish County apartment complex. While no charges were filed regarding that event, investigators suspect the defendant was involved in an exchange of gunfire with a member of Vatos Locos Surenos.
Prosecutors stated that the gunfire incident incited Vatos Locos Surenos to act against the defendant. A gang member testified regarding the group's state of mind in the days preceding the deadly shooting, explaining that they were anxious and desperate to determine a course of action because numerous members had been targeted by gunfire. The witness described the situation as overwhelming and devastating for everyone involved.
Prosecutors alleged that a planned attack at Kamiak High School on Sept. 7 was thwarted by police. That same evening, officers detained several juvenile members of Vatos Locos Surenos in a stolen vehicle; the group was armed with a firearm and allegedly searching for the 15-year-old victim.
Prosecutor Larson alleged that after other gang members failed to locate Bryan, the defendant and Uriel decided to proceed on their own. According to the prosecution, Torres-Zuniga, Hernandez-Martinez, and other gang members used a USB cord to steal a black Kia Soul with red trim in the hours preceding the shooting.
Prosecutors stated that Hernandez-Martinez and several other members of the gang backed out of the plan to go home, but Torres-Zuniga continued with the scheme. Prosecutor Doyle commented that while senior members of the group would not follow through, the defendant acted with enough boldness to shoot a 15-year-old at a bus stop by himself.
Security footage captured the stolen Kia in the victim's neighborhood three times during the early hours of Sept. 8, shortly before the victim arrived at the bus stop. Prosecutors allege that upon seeing the victim, Torres-Zuniga circled the vehicle on Hardeson Road and opened fire.
Detectives believe as many as 22 rounds were fired from the moving vehicle. Following the incident, law enforcement stated that the defendant fled the scene and abandoned the stolen car near an Interurban Trail entrance, approximately a mile from his residence. Police reported finding shell casings inside the vehicle that matched those recovered at the shooting scene.
Prosecutors presented testimony from an FBI special agent to establish the gang members' locations through phone geolocation data surrounding the shooting. Additionally, a Washington State Crime Lab expert testified that DNA recovered from the stolen vehicle was consistent with the defendant's profile, though the expert could not determine how or when the DNA was deposited.
The prosecution argued that the totality of the evidence pointed directly to the defendant. Following the shooting, the defendant's mobile device went offline for approximately 90 minutes. Upon reactivating, Spanish translations of voice messages revealed a message to Hernandez-Martinez stating, "Everything's good now, dude. You will see the news today, OK? You'll see." He subsequently informed fellow gang members that he would only be available for in-person communication.
The prosecutor characterized this communication as incredibly damaging evidence that the defendant could not explain away. The defendant's own words, the prosecutor stated, absolutely sink him.
Hernandez-Martinez was taken into custody the following day and immediately began directing suspicion toward Torres-Zuniga, according to trial testimony. Hernandez-Martinez and another Vatos Locos Surenos member testified that Torres-Zuniga possessed multiple firearms, including a 3D-printed handgun with a modification allowing for automatic fire.
The defense attorneys challenged the credibility of the gang witnesses, highlighting previous false statements made to investigators and the plea deals received prior to agreeing to testify.
The entire case originated from Uriel and information gathered from him, Gonzales stated. He cannot be believed because he adds information with each story.
Torres-Zuniga chose not to testify, and the defense rested without presenting additional witnesses.
In closing arguments, his attorneys acknowledged Torres-Zuniga's involvement in the theft of the Kia but stopped short of alleging he committed the murder. Instead, they claimed the suspect handed the car to another Vatos Locos Surenos member and alleged detectives failed to investigate who that could have been.
They are asking you to do the heavy lifting to convict my client when they can't even go out and do their job and bring you all the evidence to support their theory of the case, Gonzales said.
Hernandez-Martinez testified that he pleaded guilty and opted to cooperate with detectives after a conversation with his mother.
The person that's cutting the cow's head off and the person that's holding the cow's leg, they have the same fault, he said.
Hernandez-Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced later this month. As a condition of his plea agreement, he is expected to spend 12 and a half years in prison.
In addition to the first-degree murder with a deadly weapon charge, Torres-Zuniga was also found guilty on two counts of first-degree assault for the other teens at the bus stop on the day of the shooting, as well as possession of a stolen vehicle. The murder charges included special aggravating circumstances, because the shooting was committed as part of the suspect's gang affiliation.
We do not have frontier justice, it's not the Wild West, Doyle said during closing arguments. We do not have a legal system based on revenge. We do not have a legal system based on preemptive strikes. What we do have is rule of law.
Torres-Zuniga was found not guilty on one count of witness tampering after allegedly threatening another gang member to not testify while the two were in the Snohomish County Jail.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26.