About a girl
Allen Ivanov, 19, knew he’d made a mistake ending it with his girlfriend, but he was about to make an even bigger one…
Allen Ivanov sat outside of a million-dollar home in an affluent suburb and flicked through the manual of the brand-new gun he’d bought just days earlier.
There was a party going on inside the house of friends he’d been to school with but as Allen, 19, loaded the magazine of bullets into his weapon, he knew he’d be an unwelcome guest.
The tech student had already peered inside and had seen his ex-girlfriend Anna Bui chatting and having fun without him.
He knew he’d let his ‘dream girl’ slip through his fingers.
Anna, 19, was the first girl he’d ever kissed.
She was kind, smart and had plans to devote her life to helping others as a nurse.
They’d dated for around 18 months before Allen had ended things because he wanted some ‘time to work on himself.’
When he realised he wanted her back, it was too late.
He could see from the pictures on social media that Anna had moved on.
She was hanging out with friends and innocently talking to other boys.
They were both due to start their sophomore year at the University of Washington in
August – but Allen knew they wouldn’t be attending as a couple.
Now it was the early hours of 30 July 2016, and Anna was at a house party in wealthy Mukilteo,
Washington with other college students from Kamiak High School.
The 4000ft house was owned by a couple who were out of town for the weekend and their 19-year-old soccer star son, had thrown a party.
It was relaxed and there were around 20 teens socialising.
Allen had been sat outside from 10pm after struggling to complete his day shift at the Genius Bar of the local Apple store.
He’d crept towards the house after midnight and saw Anna talking to a man.
Allen went back to the car and had worked out how to use the semiautomatic rifle that he’d bought a week earlier.
Allen’s jealousy was at a high. The tech genius was talented, and many thought he had a bright future ahead of him, but as he stepped out of the car, he was about to throw it all away.
The 6ft 1in teenager sneaked round the back of the house with the Ruger A-14 semi-automatic rifle.
As he crouched in bushes, he was spotted by a former classmate – Jake Long, 19.
Allen shot him dead.
Jake had been sitting by an
‘My friends just got shot!’
outdoor fire pit with his friend Jordan Ebner, 19.
Allen gunned him down, too.
Allen then fired at Will Kramer, 18, who was hit in the back but managed to run to a wooded area and call 911.
Allen entered the home and terrified teens scattered screaming.
He found Anna and shot her several times before heading up to an upstairs balcony and firing at teens trying to flee the crime scene. Hysterical calls were made by the youngsters to their parents and to emergency services.
‘My friends just got shot!’ one cried. Others whispered from hiding places around the house. ‘They’re bleeding to death!’ Loved ones and police raced to the scene.
When Allen ran out of bullets, he went back to his car and drove away.
The attack had lasted just 35 seconds and he’d fired 20 shots.
Anna was dead. So was Jake Long and Jordan Ebner.
Will Kramer was left fighting for his life.
Allen was arrested 90 minutes after the shooting by police.
He told police: ‘Everything that went on tonight was about a girl.’
It was a shocking event for the close-knit community.
Kids grow up together from kindergarten to graduation and Allen had known all of his victims. Tributes flooded in. Anna had been voted ‘Most Talented’ in her class and was remembered for always having a smile on her face.
Jake was always making people laugh and was a talented baseball player. Jordan was a kind, gifted athlete. They were all mourned at candlelit vigils.
Allen told police that Anna was his dream girl and he’d got jealous seeing her with another guy.
He said that once he started firing, adrenaline kicked in and he couldn’t stop himself.
He was charged with one count of aggravated murder, two of first-degree murder and one of attempted first degree murder.
After a few weeks in hospital, Will Kramer was well enough to be released home.
His family
Allen bragged about his killings
revealed he’ll live with shrapnel and bullet fragments in tissues in his left shoulder forever.
Allen, then 20, pleaded guilty and waived any right to appeal a sentence.
In January 2017, Allen told the court that ‘Satan was in control’ when he opened fire and that he was selfish.
‘That’s why I did this,’ he said.
He read a lengthy statement from a piece of paper.
‘How could I have done this? I could not say,’ he said, describing being ‘hopeless, suicidal and outraged with jealousy’ when he opened fire.
‘I want to apologise wholeheartedly to all those whose lives I’ve taken, and all those whose lives have been darkened by my actions.’
Allen suggested that he’d been able to commit the crime because he’d been sold the gun.
‘Anna visits me in my dreams and talks to me all the time,’ he told the court.
Many doubted the sincerity of Allen’s words, noting that he’d penned rap lyrics in prison bragging about killing Anna.
I knew she knew who I was ’cause I saw her face right before I pulled the trigger, he’d written. There was also evidence that before the shooting, he’d told friends he’d bought a gun and was going to shoot his ex-girlfriend.
Survivor Will had written a letter: I’ve personally been affected in countless ways by this coward that sits before us. From the 17 days spent in the hospital with tubes inside of me to endless nightmares and thoughts that poison my faith in humanity.
However, this is nothing compared to the emptiness I feel as a result of my dear friends’ deaths. I miss them so much, Will wrote.
Jake Long’s mother Autumn Snider, brought an urn of her son’s ashes to court.
‘Allen Ivanov has stolen so much from so many people,’ she spoke up.
‘This is what I have left of my son – ashes in an urn that sits on my mantle. Jake is gone, he is dead and Allen killed him.’
Anna’s devastated brother David said; ‘The last time I saw her she was going out. The next time she was in a coffin.’
Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis told Allen; ‘You deserve to be separated from society for the rest of your life and you shall.’
She sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
The community will forever remember the events of that horrible night and the actions of Allen Ivanov.
And it lead to tighter gun controls in Washington State.
Three innocent teenagers had their futures gunned down and for so many more, innocence was lost forever.