Seattle police still searching for gunman who shot and killed 16-year-old at front door of Rainier Beach home

RAINIER BEACH, Wash. — Seattle police are still trying to piece together who shot and killed a 16-year-old boy at the front door of his Rainier Beach home on Friday night.

The murder of Earl Estrella is rocking the community, and it’s a painful reminder for another family whose son’s killer still hasn’t been caught almost a year later.

Conner Dassa-Holland, 18, was gunned down in front of his home last Mother’s Day. He died in the arms of his mother, Alicia Dassa.

“We don’t know what to expect. We don’t know how to feel. We’re kind of all over the place with our grief. We feel sad that it’s been a year without him,” said Dassa.

There’s the pain of visiting Dassa-Holland at the cemetery instead of at the University of Washington. As a family, they’re still working on what life looks like without him.

“There’s a strange sense of whether he’s still coming home or not. It’s very strange,” Dassa added.

Some days are harder than others.

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“This weekend was really hard because we heard all the sirens. We actually didn’t hear the gunshots, but we heard all the sirens. And of course, there is that feeling anytime you hear sirens on that level of wondering who is hurt, if it’s someone we know,” Dassa said.

Just six blocks away on Waters Avenue South, police said a teen was shot and killed after he answered the front door of his home on Friday night.

The medical examiner identified the teen as Earl Estrella.

Seattle Public Schools confirmed that Estrella attended Interagency Academy, which is an alternative high school. The district stated that the Interagency community is working together through the grief of this tragic loss and will provide mental health counseling for students, families and staff.

Dassa doesn’t know the family, but she understands all too well their pain.

“For Jimmy and I, knowing there’s parents who are three days in now to how we felt, we just feel helpless,” Dassa said. “The hardest part for us is knowing how they feel and knowing that a year later, we’re not feeling a whole lot different.”

Dassa said community support helped her family get through their worst days and hopes she can help Estrella’s family when they’re ready.

“We want to reach out, be supportive, but we also want to give them their space, privacy, and room and figure out how they’re going to grieve first,” Dassa said.

Seattle police still don’t have a motive for Estrella’s killing, and they don’t know if he was targeted. No suspect has been identified yet.

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