A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty and was sentenced Monday in the November 2022 fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy at Ingraham High School, according to King County prosecutors.
The teen, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm, Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, said in an email.
He was sentenced to be incarcerated in a juvenile rehabilitation facility until his 21st birthday. He will then be eligible for two years of parole supervision following his release, per the requirements of new state laws, McNerthney said.
“Ultimately, the sentence imposed was agreed to and recommended by all parties,” he said.
The Seattle Times typically does not name juveniles accused of crimes unless they’re charged as adults.
On Nov. 8, 2022, the teen shot 17-year-old Ebenezer Haile five times in the back in the North Seattle school’s hallway, and then fired at another student, according to prosecutors.
The teen was arrested on a King County Metro bus not long after the shooting.
Another teenager was also arrested for rendering criminal assistance and unlawful possession of a gun. A Glock 32 handgun was found in the then-15-year-old’s backpack. He pleaded guilty to those charges in September, McNerthney said.
People who knew Haile described him as humble, down to earth and compassionate. He played basketball frequently at community centers in the area, and he spent a lot of time with his friends and family.
His death caused an uproar in the community, with students and families rallying and calling on state and city leaders to tighten gun laws.
Seattle Public Schools responded with a new safety initiative, including a community action team that would assess how safety can be improved at schools and surrounding neighborhoods, as well as a wellness team that would create a citywide youth mental health response protocol. The district also planned to undertake safety reviews at all of its schools.
Thursday, Garfield High School student Amarr Murphy-Paine, 17, was shot and killed in the school’s parking lot during lunchtime. Police have yet to arrest a suspect in that shooting.