School district added to Bremerton school shooting lawsuit

A lawsuit over the shooting of a 9-year-old girl at a Bremerton school last February now names the school district.

Amina Bowman was severely wounded when a gun in another student’s backpack went off Feb. 22 at Armin Jahr Elementary.

Family attorney Jeffrey Campiche said that before the shooting, the mother of a different student had notified the school that she found knives in her son’s school pack. And he said that the boy with the gun had told other people that he intended to get a gun for protection from bullies.

Campiche said the district failed to follow the standard of care for the safety and protection of students, including searching of backpacks.

New court filings include statements from experts in education and school security who believe the school district knew or should have known that weapons might be brought to school.

“Both of the educators who looked at the file felt that there was sufficient evidence to require some searching of the backpacks,” said Campiche.

A Bremerton School District spokeswoman had “no comment.”

Campiche said the lawsuit previously named four people linked to the boy with the gun, including his uncle and his mother.

Bowman is now enrolled in a private school, according to her attorney.

The original lawsuit was filed in August in Kitsap County Superior Court. Campiche said that at that time, the district was notified that it could be added to the list of defendants.