Hazen High School student charged with double murder

Published 2:45 pm Friday, March 27, 2026

A Hazen High School student is accused of committing a double murder after taking a bus from Renton to Seattle.

On March 20, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO) charged a 16-year-old boy, who was 15 at the time of the homicides, with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

These charges stem from a Jan. 30 incident where the teen is accused of getting off a bus and fatally shooting two Rainier Beach High School students — 17-year-old Traveiah Houfmuse and 18-year-old Tyjon Stewart — on Henderson Street in Seattle.

Because the boy was 15 years old at the time of the homicides, he was not charged as an adult. The KCPAO filed a motion to have a decline hearing where the judge will decide whether the boy will be charged as an adult. In Washington state, if a juvenile is 16 or 17 years old and is charged with murder, they are automatically charged as adults, but if they are under 16, there must be a decline hearing if prosecutors wish to charge them as adults.

“Despite the name, the decline hearing does not mean that charges are being declined,” KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney said. “It refers to the court’s consideration of whether to decline juvenile jurisdiction and move the case to adult court. That is the process that takes months before a judge’s final decision.”

McNerthney said an arraignment, where defendants plead guilty or not guilty, will not occur until a judge has decided whether the boy will be charged as an adult. Even if the boy’s case is moved to adult court, he will not be held in adult jail unless he reaches adulthood.

According to McNerthney, a judge ordered that the boy remain in secure detention.

Details of the case

According to charging documents, at approximately 3:57 p.m. Jan. 30, 911 received a call reporting a shooting in front of South Shore Elementary School, located at 8627 S. Henderson Street, Seattle. When officers arrived, they located Houfmuse and Stewart, who were both dead. The principal of Rainier Beach High School arrived at the scene and identified the two deceased males as students at the high school.

According to documents, 12 .40-caliber fired cartridges were recovered from the scene. Documents state that an autopsy confirmed that both males died from gunshot wounds to their heads and necks. Additionally, a detective noted that the incident appeared to be a targeted shooting because the two deceased males were the only two shot in a large crowd, the shooting was done at close range, and the injuries were to the head and neck region.

Documents state that Metro buses driving by at the time captured parts of the incident on camera. According to documents, a person — whom officers believe is the Hazen student — exited the rear of a bus and then shot at the two alleged victims. On video, the boy can be seen extending his arms in the direction of where the two alleged victims were found and then running on South Henderson Street.

Documents state that video footage from multiple Ring cameras and other establishments tracked the boy’s movements as he went through alleyways and streets. He is then seen on camera at 4:01 p.m. near 8617 44th Avenue S., removing a ski mask and a white beanie with an 8-ball on it. Documents state that he is seen in all the videos wearing white shoes with black accents. The last time he was captured on video after the incident, he was near the intersection of 44th Avenue South and Renton Avenue South.

Documents state that on Feb. 5, an anonymous source provided the boy’s name. A detective then located the boy’s Facebook page, which appeared to be the same person who committed the Jan. 30 fatal shootings. Documents state that an officer then spoke with the boy’s probation officer, who said that he was a student at Hazen High School.

On Feb. 6, an officer went to Hazen High School and spoke to a safety officer without telling him the reason for the visit. Documents state that a detective showed the safety officer photos of the suspect fleeing the scene of the fatal shootings, and then the officer said he recognized the person as the boy.

The safety officer said he was 90% sure because the person’s walk, clothing, especially the shoes, hairstyle and face looked like the boy’s. A second safety officer also believed it was the boy based on the shape of the person’s face in the video, his stride and “everything.”

According to documents, when the boy’s attendance was checked, he was at school on Jan. 30, but then he did not return to school until Feb. 9. The head of security at Hazen High School said that the boy changed his pattern of behavior since returning to school, noting that he has not taken the bus home, he is dropped off every morning, misses first period and he is picked up in the afternoon before school is over.

Documents state that videos of the boy at school on Jan. 30 were retrieved, and the boy is wearing clothing consistent with that worn by the Jan. 30 shooter on Henderson Street. The boy is seen at school wearing white shoes with black accents and a white beanie with an 8-ball on it. Footage of the boy riding a school bus at approximately 2:08 p.m. Jan. 30 showed him wearing a gold ring that looked the same as the one worn by the shooter and one that the boy is seen with on his Facebook page.

Documents state that then at 3:34 p.m., someone wearing the same clothing as the boy is seen getting on a bus leaving the Renton Transit Center, and that same bus later arrived at the scene of the shooting, and the alleged shooter would exit it before the incident. The boy’s phone data showed that it was in the vicinity of the murder scene between 3:41 p.m. and 4:24 p.m., but exact times could not be determined.