'SPS must do better': Family files lawsuit years after shooting death of Ingraham student

KING COUNTY, Wash. — Almost two years after the shooting death of 17-year-old Ebenezer Haile at Ingraham High School, his family is filing a lawsuit against Seattle Public Schools.

According to court documents, the intent of the lawsuit is to hold SPS leaders accountable and to find answers to why they “failed to take reasonable steps to protect its students.”

Haile was shot and killed on Nov. 8, 2022, inside the main hallway of Ingraham High School after a 14-year-old pulled a gun from his backpack and fired multiple shots.

The 14-year-old was charged with murder, assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm. KOMO News cannot name the teen since he was charged as a juvenile.

Haile was shot multiple times in the back. Video footage from the school shows when the shooting occurred. The 14-year-old was seen pointing the gun at other students and firing it until it was empty.

The lawsuit said about a month before the shooting on Oct. 3, 2022, the teen was caught with a gun and a long blade knife on school property. His belongings were searched, and the gun recovered was a BB gun that replicated a Glock-style pistol.

An SPS Safety & Security Incident Report was filed following the incident and the teen was suspended from school for two and a half days. According to the lawsuit, the report described the incident as a “lethal threat.” Haile’s family is asking why the teen was allowed to attend school following that incident.

“RCW 9.41.280(1) makes it a crime for any person to possess a firearm, dangerous weapon, or air gun/pellet gun/BB gun. The law expressly mandates that any person over the age of twelve be detained or confined in a juvenile or adult facility for up to seventy-two hours. The person shall not be released within the seventy-two hours until after the person has been examined and evaluated by a designated crisis responder unless the court in its discretion releases the person sooner after a determination regarding probable cause or on probation or bail,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also states that any violation of RCW 9.41.280(1) by an elementary or secondary school student constitutes grounds for expulsion from a state public school. It also explained how the teen was in violation of SPS policy as well.

“All children must be kept safe at school. Seattle Public Schools has to wise up and stop their naïve, failed approach to school safety. This lawsuit will demand answers to tough questions and force necessary change to occur,”Cheryl L. Snow, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit told KOMO News.

In the lawsuit, Haile’s family said SPS was negligent in failing to prevent the deadly shooting.

An SPS spokesperson said the following in a statement:

The district is in receipt of the recently filed complaint as it relates to the Ingraham shooting. The death of a district student is a tragedy from any perspective.

While the district will not comment in detail on the specifics due to a pending legal claim against the district in the early phase of litigation, the district generally disagrees with the proposition that the actions of an individual that resulted in a shooting was the fault of the district or district staff.

The district takes the safety of students and staff with the utmost level of concern consistent with applicable law and will continue to do so. It also recognizes the challenges that our society faces with widespread access to firearms and disregard by some to the tragic harm they can cause. Such events have no place in a school setting.