Family of girl shot at Bremerton elementary school hires attorney

The family of Amina Bowman, an 8-year-old girl shot at her elementary school in Bremerton, has hired an attorney to determine who is at fault for the shooting.

A 9-year-old boy brought a .45 caliber gun to school on Feb. 22 in his backpack. The gun fired when he slammed his bag down on his desk. The bullet shattered the arm of his classmate, Amina, before entering her abdomen, damaging her liver, gallbladder and pancreas.

Police determined the shooting was an accident, but the Bowman’s attorney, Jeffery Campichne, says that’s a misuse of the word.

“It isn’t an accident that a loaded, .45 caliber handgun was in a classroom where this child was cut down,” said Campiche.

The attorney says he’ll spend the coming months investigating who might share the blame for what happened. He mentioned the boy’s parents, the state of Washington, and even the gun manufacturer.

“Where did that 9-year-old get that firearm? Where are his parents and since his parents have been restricted from him because they were unfit parents by the state, you ask yourself, ‘Where’s the state.” If the gun indeed discharged when the trigger wasn’t pulled, is it safely manufactured?”

Based on the police investigation, Campiche says he believes the boy got the gun from the glove box inside his mother’s boyfriend’s vehicle.

John Bowman, Amina’s father, thanked the community for the outpouring of support and said he’s worried about his daughter’s survival and recovery. The Navy reserve, who returned from a deployment in Iraq last April, says he’s still asking how this could have happened.