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Subscribe to RSSPORT ORCHARD, Wash. – A 9-year-old boy who took a gun to school that accidentally discharged and seriously wounded a classmate was sentenced Tuesday to 12 months of probation and ordered to write a letter of apology to the victim.
The boy admitted to unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree, reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon on school facilities. An assault charge was dropped, and in return, the boy agreed to testify against his mother and her boyfriend.
At a Kitsap County Juvenile Court hearing, the boy was asked whether he wanted to say anything. He said simply, "I'm sorry."
The boy's classmate, 8-year-old Amina Kocer-Bowman, remains in serious condition at a Seattle hospital after she was struck Feb. 22 in her abdomen and arm.
The boy was also ordered to undergo 48 hours of counseling. He is to have no contact with his mother, Jamie Lee Passmore, 34, or her boyfriend, Douglas Bauer, 50, and must be home-schooled.
The boy accidently shot Amina Kocer-Bowman when a loaded gun in his backpack discharged at Armin Jahr Elementary school on Feb. 22.
The boy got the .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun from the glove box of his mother’s vehicle during a weekend visit, according to police. Authorities said Monday that the handgun was owned by Bauer, according to The Kitsap Sun.
Bremerton police Lt. Peter Fisher said the warrant for Passmore lists two second-degree counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. Bauer, is wanted for a second-degree count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
Kocer-Bowman, who was hit in the abdomen, remains in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center. She has undergone at least five surgeries.
KING5.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Look at the difference in a Mom. One who thinks nothing of leaving loaded guns around and one who lost her legs saving her children in a tornado. I'm sure the little 9 year old was taught that guns were okay. Well, they can be with responsible adults around. What a shame. I hope the little boy will get the help he needs, and that the little girl recovers to lead a normal life.
Sad that a little girl was hurt, i hope she can make a full recovery. this mom, in fact any parent that allows a child to have unchecked access to a weapon needs to suffer the worst punishment allowed by law. The was no intent by this boy to hurt someone and i hope that he can come ot erms with his actions, more so forgive his mother for not knowing what it means to be one.
So, who is going to have custody of this kid and who will be home-schooling him?
The article says that he got the gun while on a weekend visit with his mother. She didn't have custody to begin with. I guess it's pretty easy to see why she didn't have custody.
The child has not been in the custody of either parent for some time. Previous articles stated that he was livign with an uncle and had been since the death of his grandmother a year prior - which would seem to indicate that grandma had had custody of him prior to her death. He may well be placed into a residential/foster situation geared towards children in the legal system.
i hope not. it sounds like this kid has had a rough time of it allready.
Put the Boyfriend and the Mother in jail and find the boy a family that cares. hopefully the girl makes a full recovery. putting a loaded weapon in the glovebox without a trigger guard just shows that the Mother is incapable of raising a child. Let her rot in jail since that little girl has gone thru hell and is still in bad shape because of that careless B!TCH and Retarded Boyfriend she has. Put him away too, since it was his gun that she had. then have her tubes tied and his sack clipped to ensure that they don't have any kids. they are way too DUMB to be parrents.
My continued condolences to Amina Kocer-Bowman, and I hope for a full recovery for this young girl.
I also sincerely hope that the young boy get the counseling and help he needs. The situation he was in needs to be investigated fully also. What was the impetus that made him want to run away from his Uncle who had custody? Was it just a young boy running away because he didn't want to be grounded or punished with extra chores (do kids have chores anymore?), or was it more serious circumstances?
The firearm owner Douglas Bauer needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. First for his apparent illegal possession of a firearm, and then for his providing a firearm to a known felon. The possession charge might even be a federal crime predicated on HIS legal situation, if HE was a felon.
The firearm "holder" needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law also. As the firearm was in the vehicle owned by Jamie Lee Passmore, she was 'technically' in possession of the firearm. Being a KNOWN felon, it is illegal from both a State and Federal perspective and she should be fully prosecuted for the federal violation.
If both "adults" in this situation are found guilty, they should both be sentenced to the extent allowed by law, and as there will likely be multiple charges, all convictions and sentences should be served CONSECUTIVELY and NOT concurrently. Please keep these people off the streets and away from the young boy for as long as possible.
A very sad situation that did not need to happen.
As yet another example of what a stellar candidate for "Mother of the Year" she is, she isn't even there for her son now - off on vacation (per the other article I read this morning - she and her boyfriend are at a Nascar event out of state) while he is facing the legal reprecussions of a situation she contributed to, just lovely. I do have to wonder, though, why officials think that she and the boyfriend will return home when they have not publicized multiple articles stating that they will be arrested when they return.
now, not "not" -- missed that until after the edit box expired -- they have NOW publicized multiple times that they are waiting to arrest them.
The poor woman who lost her legs saving her children is most definitely a hero and a mother! The idiot that allowed this child to have access to a loaded weapon whether inadvertantly or deliberately should have the book thrown at her and her boyfriend, neither of which should have had the weapon in the first place. Children are very curious and the boy was almost fatally curious in this case! Of course the antigunners will be yelling to do away with all guns. The point here is, although the mom and her boyfreind weren't supposed to have a gun, they are criminals! Once again it proves my point, gun control doesn't work. People control does have a better chance! Sheesh, what idiots! All guns should be in a secure place, away from children! Its really that simple! Red
Another article said the mom & boyfriend were out of town/state for a NASCAR event... Dont know why that surprises me, that they'd be around. Even if for support. Poor babies, the both of them.
Per the NRA, maybe if one of the other kids at school had a gun they could have stopped this from happening.