Marysville man held in shooting of daughter, 6

By Sonia Krishnan and Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporters

The father of a 6-year-old Marysville girl who was fatally shot at her home Sunday had been drinking double shots of vodka while he cleaned his guns, according to probable-cause documents.

Richard Peters told Snohomish County sheriff's deputies he had drunk several double vodkas when one of the guns discharged, striking his daughter Stormy in the head, according to the court papers. The girl was airlifted to Seattle Children's Hospital, where she died early Monday, said sheriff's Lt. Jeff Brand.

When later questioned by deputies, Peters said he felt that at the time of the shooting he would have been too intoxicated to drive.

Peters, 42, was arrested and is being held on investigation of first-degree manslaughter. He is being held in the Snohomish County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Stormy was a first-grade student at Quil Ceda Elementary School in the Marysville School District.

Peters' other two children, an 8-year-old and a 3-year-old, have been removed from the home by Child Protective Services, according to Rebecca Hover, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

Peters was at home with his wife and three children on Sunday night when he sent Stormy upstairs to fetch a Colt Double Eagle .45-caliber handgun from his nightstand. Snohomish County sheriff's investigators said Peters told them he took out the magazine, pulled the trigger and the gun went off.

Peters called 911 at 7:26 p.m. to report that his daughter had been shot in the head at their home in the 4500 block of 83rd Place Northwest. He told a 911 operator that he and his daughter were cleaning guns when the girl was shot, deputies said.

Peters later told deputies the Colt has a "hair trigger."

According to the probable-cause document, deputies said neither of the couple's other children were in the room at the time of the shooting. They reported that they found vodka and a spent shell casing in the room.

Detectives completed their on-scene investigation Monday, Hover said. They removed other firearms from the house, but she did not specify how many weapons or which types.

According to deputies, Peters told them he had been in the military, was "very proficient" with firearms and that he had both a license and a permit to carry concealed weapons.

He also told deputies that all of his children handle weapons, according to court documents.

According to deputies, Peters told them this wasn't the first accidental discharge he had experienced while handling firearms. He said a shotgun accidentally fired during a "pumpkin shoot" in Darrington the day after Halloween when a friend handed him what he thought was an unloaded shotgun and he pulled the trigger, firing a round. No one was hurt.

Neighbors on Monday described the Peters family as "wonderful people."

"This is a terrible tragedy for the whole neighborhood," said neighbor Erika Smith.

She said the Peters children were among a group of five in the close-knit neighborhood who played together constantly. The death of the 6-year-old has been devastating for them all, she said.