On November 8th, 17-year-old Ebenezer Haile was shot and killed by 14-year-old Treyvaun French in the halls of Ingraham High School in Seattle, Washington.
The shooting stemmed from an argument between the suspect and his friends, and the victim and his friends. One of French’s friends had brought the gun to school, and the group that included Haile tried to take it from them in the school’s bathroom. I was unable to find out whether Haile’s group wanted the gun for themselves, or were trying to prevent something from happening.
During the scuffle, French ended up in possession of the gun. The two groups tried to go their separate ways in the hallways of the school, but French was said to have appeared angry and agitated. French accused Haile of taking his cell phone in the fight. Haile challenged French by telling him he didn’t have the guts to shoot him. Tragically, French answered the challenge by shooting Haile after Haile had already turned his back. French even kept shooting Haile after he was already lying on the floor. Emergency workers were able to get Haile to the hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds. He had been shot five times.
After the shooting, French and a 15-year-old acquaintance fled the school. A neighborhood woman found them in her backyard. The pair told her they fled the school after the shooting. The woman invited them into her home. The pair were trying to find a ride home and declined a ride back to the school from the woman. The woman, however, did photograph both boys, and later showed them to police after the boys had left. They only stayed at the woman’s home for 30 minutes.
The pair were found on a city bus, where the gun was said to be found in the backpack of the 15-year-old. For the gun nerds out there who feel like it matters what type of gun was used, the gun was said to be a semi-automatic Glock 32 which fires a .357 round. When police confiscated the gun, its magazine was empty but had a round in the chamber. The caliber of the round in the gun matched the shell casings left at the scene.
The gun itself has been reported as lost to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office on Oct, 28th. Snohomish County is one county north of Seattle’s King County. I have yet to see any information about how the gun ended up in the hands of the suspect’s friend who brought the gun to school. However, I will add that bad guys with guns usually get them from so-called good guys with guns, one way or another. This also doesn’t mean the gun was actually lost, as it could have been given away while being ‘reported lost’. That’s far from a rare transaction when it comes to ‘responsible gun owners™’. But, I digress.
The 15-year-old acquaintance is being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree and felony rendering criminal assistance in the first degree. His case will remain in juvenile court. He is not being considered an accomplice to the murder.
French has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a dangerous weapon at a school facility. Prosecutors are trying to get his case moved to adult court.
Neither teen has a criminal history.
Just as an added aside, the city of Seattle is barred from passing their own gun legislation in hopes of stopping future incidents like this. Well, it’s not just Seattle. The State of Washington has a law on the books that prevents cities from enforcing their own gun legislation.
Under Washington State law, cities are prohibited from implementing their own gun law, stating “the State of Washington hereby fully occupies and preempts the entire field of firearms regulation within the boundaries of the state.”
While Washington my seem like a blue state with its hipsters and legal weed, the farther east you go in the Evergreen State, the redder it gets.
On November 17th, Ingraham High School students walked out of classes demanding mental health resources and gun safety measures. Good luck with that, kids. Even the adults can’t seem to get a handle on that.
Now we come to the point where we ask what could have prevented the shooting. Well, if the gun was legitimately lost, how about keeping a better eye on your guns. If the gun was stolen, how about keeping your fucking coward stick locked and secured?
For that matter, where are the charges for the friend of French who brought the gun to school in the first place?
Just about any time a kid fires a gun inside a school, there always seems to be this loose end about how they got the gun in the first place. Most of the time they get the guns from their parents. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen parents charged for letting their kids get their guns. Typically, they get some lesser charge and never see any jail time. Although, that may change with James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Oxford High shooter Ethan Crumbley.
We can’t address the issue of why some kids think it’s ok to kill until we get the instruments of death from falling into their hands.
(Sources)
- Court documents reveal events leading up to fatal shooting at Ingraham HS
- 2 teens held in juvenile detention after Ingraham High School shooting in Seattle
- 2 teens arrested, could face charges for deadly shooting at Ingraham High School
- Seattle’s Ingraham High School shooting: What we know
- Judge recommends charges against 2 teens detained in Ingraham High School shooting
- State gun laws under question following Ingraham High School shooting
- 2 teens charged in deadly Seattle high school shooting
- Ingraham High School shooting victim identified, suspects face judge
- Student killed at Ingraham High School identified
- Ingraham High School shooting victim was a 17-year-old senior
- 14-year-old charged with first-degree murder following fatal shooting at Ingraham High School in Seattle
Real Crime with Trench Reynolds 