Teen arrested in toddler’s death outside Federal Way IHOP

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — After months of investigating, Federal Way Police apprehended a teenager this week after a toddler was shot and killed outside a restaurant earlier this year.

That shootout occurred outside of an IHOP back in April, leaving a 2-year-old dead. Nearly six months to the day, 17-year-old Jayson Jack has been apprehended and charged, thanks to the tireless work of detectives and law enforcement.

According to court documents, the alleged shooter opened fire at the victim’s father while he was sitting in an IHOP parking lot waiting for his girlfriend to get off work.

Investigators say it all ties back to arguments between Jack and the toddler’s father, following fights involving family members. In fact, they say it was one of those family members that tipped Jack off to that individual’s whereabouts.

Jack was formally charged with first-degree murder, as well as two counts of first-degree attempted murder, all with firearm enhancements and all appear to be a targeted attack.

“This was a priority for us from the beginning because it was an innocent two-year-old in a car. And, Dad really was innocent too, right? He was ambushed by this person,” says Kyle Buchanan, a Commander with the Federal Way Police Department. “And, so we made it a priority from the beginning.”

It’s violence like this that investigators say they are trying to crack down on.

Authorities also say this is not Jack’s first run-in with the law, saying he has an extensive criminal record. That includes charges of motor vehicle theft, unlawful possession of a firearm, and two counts of robbery. All of which stems from two separate robberies of elderly women in May 2023.

Jack was just 16 years old at the time of the shooting. However, he is being charged as an adult. As for the delay between the incident and an arrest, law enforcement acknowledged that building this case took some time.

“We wanted to be very sure that we had more than enough evidence to take the case to the Prosecutor’s Office and give them a case that is, really like a slam dunk case, right?” Buchanan noted. “We don’t want something to happen with this case where this suspect gets off on some sort of technicality. And, so the reason that it did take those five months is because we wanted to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s.”

Jack is currently being held on a total of $5 million bail. His next scheduled court date is his arraignment, which is set to take place on Thursday, October 17th at the King County Courthouse.

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