MUKILTEO — More than three years after Kamiak High School graduate Jacob Long was killed in a mass shooting, his mother has reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the murderer and his parents, attorneys on both sides said Tuesday.
The mother’s attorney, Jeff Twersky, said the parties agreed to a cash settlement, but wouldn’t specify the amount. A move for dismissal hadn’t been filed in Snohomish County Superior Court as of Tuesday, but both sides have signed the paperwork, Twersky said.
“While this settlement does not bring closure to Jacob’s mother or his siblings, it allows them to move on with their lives,” Twersky wrote in a statement.
Long, known as Jake by his friends, was a standout baseball player who had just returned to Washington after spending his freshman year at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He was preparing to start his sophomore year at Washington State University.
Allen Ivanov was armed with a semi-automatic rifle on July 30, 2016, when he ambushed a party at a Mukilteo house. He opened fire on the partygoers, many of whom he’d gone to Kamiak with, killing Long, Jordan Ebner and Anna Bui, his ex-girlfriend. They were all 19. An 18-year-old Kamiak student also was shot, but survived.
Ivanov was sentenced in January 2017 to life in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Now 23, he’s currently serving his life sentence at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
Autumn Snider, representing her son’s estate, filed the lawsuit in June 2018, seeking an unspecified amount in damages. The complaint focused on Ivanov’s mental state, and what his parents may have known about it, before the shooting. It alleged he had a long history of behavioral problems that grew worse after his breakup with Bui.
To be held liable under Washington state law, Ivanov’s parents would have needed to foresee that their son presented a threat to others, and then acted in a way that would have made that threat more likely.
By settling, the couple isn’t accepting liability for their son’s actions.
Another wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Ivanovs, brought by Bui’s parents, remains unresolved. Superior Court Judge Richard Okrent denied a summary judgment in that case in June, saying it should go to trial.
Herald writer Joey Thompson contributed to this story.
Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.
This story has been modified to correct the date of the 2016 shootings.
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