PHOENIX — Gun violence was the leading cause of death for kids ages 15-17 in Arizona, according to the latest child fatality review.
Even as more teenagers become victims of gun violence, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives records show gun seizures from teenagers doubled in five years.
At age 16, Efrain Escobar was an athlete and a helper. He had a girlfriend, friends and teammates who enjoyed his warm smile, the kind of teen whose father leaned on for support.
“All the struggles I went through to get where I’m at now, he would do it with me,” said Efrain's father, Raul Escobar. “Now he's gone.”
On November 13, 2021, Efrain was shot and killed at a gas station in Buckeye, Ariz. He was a high school sophomore.
In 2021, the Arizona Child Fatality Review found that gun violence was the leading cause of death for teens ages 15-17, surpassing car crashes and poisoning, including drug overdoses.
And even as more teens die from gun violence, the ATF seized guns from more teens each year since 2017-2021 – indicating that teens could be increasingly perpetrators of gun-related crimes, too.
Following Efrain’s death, Buckeye police identified Eric Buchanan as the shooter. He was also 16 years old, just shy of his seventeenth birthday.
Buchanan was caught on camera firing more than a dozen shots at Efrain – one bullet fragment even struck Buchanan’s own sister, according to court records.
“He took my son's life for no good reason. My son didn’t deserve that,” Raul said. “(Buchanan) deserves to rot in there, stay in jail forever.”
Buchanan was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault for the injury to his sister.
“He isn’t the bad person everybody thinks he is,” Buchanan’s sister said during his sentencing hearing.
His attorney described a “chaotic and confusing” childhood that he argued contributed to Buchanan’s actions. Buchanan also spoke up and apologized.
“If I could go back in time to change it, I would, but I can’t,” Buchanan said in court. “I’m sorry for your loss and pain.”
In June 2023, Buchanan was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Efrain should have graduated high school.
“And now that my son is going away? My heart is broken,” Buchanan’s mother said in court.
“It's something that no parent ever thinks they're ever gonna go through,” Raul said.
As a minor, Buchanan never should have had a gun.
Buckeye police tell 12News they did not recover the gun used to kill Efrain, so it is unclear exactly where it came from. However, Buckeye police said their investigation suggests that an adult gave the gun to Buchanan.
Court records shed additional light on how common guns were in Buchanan’s home. Less than a year after he was arrested for shooting Efrain at the gas station, Buchanan’s parents were arrested in connection to another shooting.
This time, another 16-year-old relative shot and killed 19-year-old Adrian Beaulieu in the Buchanan household.
“Unfortunately, they were comfortable having lots of guns around,” said LeTina Beaulieu, Adrian’s mother.
Police called it an accident, as the teens were playing around with the gun.
Still, Buchanan’s parents were charged and convicted of hindering prosecution after hiding the firearms and lying to investigators.
“They may not have pulled the trigger, but they gave the guns. They tried to cover things up; they hid things,” LeTina said.
“We are seeing an upward trend of violence in this country; we have been for several years now,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in a June press conference. “And that trend, unfortunately, has now filtered down to our kids.”
In Arizona, there is no specific law requiring gun owners to secure their weapons – though families of killed teens have pushed for such legislation recently.
Still, the county attorney said each case could affect the parents, depending on specific circumstances.
“As far as parents, it's, again, it's a very case-specific kind of thing,” Mitchell said. “You have to look at what they knew if they received any warnings, etc. And we're going to look at that if any cases are submitted to us, so it's not off the table. But we're going to look at each individual set of facts.”
Local and national data don’t detail how teens are getting access to guns. Anecdotally, investigators tell 12News, it’s easy for teens.
Whether they have access in their own homes, from a relative, from an unlicensed seller, or even from theft, guns are widely accessible.
“Unfortunately, you're seeing more and more crimes being committed with firearms, where juveniles are involved in teenagers,” said Brendan Iber, the ATF Special Agent in Charge at the Phoenix Field Division. “It's upsetting. It truly is upsetting.”
The ATF does not regulate how private citizens store or keep their guns.
The agency does regulate federally licensed gun sellers and releases records on guns recovered in crimes, and guns that were reported stolen.
From 2017-2021, ATF data shows 1,074,022 guns were reported stolen nationwide.
About 34,000 guns were stolen from federally licensed sellers - or about 3.2% of all guns reported stolen.
On the other hand, 1,026,538 – or 95.6% of all guns reported stolen in the U.S. – were taken from private citizens.
“Part of owning a firearm is taking those extra measures to ensure that these firearms are locked up in their safe,” Ibers said. “Leaving them in vehicles overnight, maybe, isn't the greatest way to secure your firearm. We need citizens’ help to keep these firearms off the streets.”
Stolen firearms are recovered in crimes across the country, and only a small fraction are recovered from teens. Still, law enforcement and families torn apart by gun violence hope legal gun owners would do more to secure their weapons - and out of the wrong hands.
“You need to make sure that there are safety mechanisms in place,” said LeTina. “You shouldn't have them lying around and accessible for kids.”
The 16-year-old who killed her son spent time in juvie and took a plea deal for manslaughter. LeTina said he spoke out in juvenile court.
“He acknowledged that he has to live the rest of his life knowing that he took his friend's life,” LeTina remembered. “And that's hard for a 16-year-old to think about.”
Her son Adrian wanted to be a firefighter, someone who saved lives. She hopes sharing her son’s story will help save other kids and their families from experiencing the same pain.
“We don’t want him to be forgotten,” she shared.
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