Police: Bremerton school shooting was accidental

The shooting that critically wounded an 8-year-old girl at a Bremerton school Wednesday was accidental, the Bremerton Police Department said.

A third-grade boy at Armin Jahr Elementary School brought a gun to school and it discharged in his backpack and struck Amina Kocer-Bowman, a classmate.

Kocer-Bowman, was rushed to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton and later airlifted to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center. She underwent surgery and is listed  in critical condition in intensive care, says KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporterAlison Grande.

The boy was arrested on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, bringing a dangerous weapon onto school grounds and third-degree assault based on criminal negligence, police said. He was booked into the Kitsap County Juvenile Detention Center.

Investigators are working to find out how the boy gained access to the gun.

• Video: Teacher's husband describes shooting
• Video: Girl arrives at hospital
• Video: Parents' frantic rush to pick up kids
• Video: Student in shooting 'problem in class'
• Raw video: Helicopter takes child to Harborview
• Video: Student in shooting 'problem in class'

Bremerton police and emergency crews were dispatched to the school at around 1:30 p.m. in response to a call that a student was shot and injured by another student.  Authorities say a firearm was found in a classroom.

"Student at Armin Jahr tells me he heard a boom, then 'lockdown, lockdown, lockdown!' over school address system," wrote McCarty on Twitter.

The student who fired the shot was transferred to the school recently, said the husband of the teacher who was in the classroom when the shooting happened.

“I don’t know a lot about the kid other than my wife’s been coming home talking about him, and he’s been a real problem in the class, and she’s been very concerned about it,” said Bill Poss.

Poss said though there hadn’t been a rift or argument between the two students, he thought the shooting "sounds intentional."

"The kid was a loner, kind of," said Poss.

Poss said his wife went to the hospital with the victim. He said a room at the school was reserved for teachers and parents, and that everyone was traumatized by what happened.

Chopper 7, arriving at the scene soon after the shooting, showed police at the school, school buses nearby and children being released to their parents.

Parent and PTA member Kerri Johnson said she learned about the shooting from a friend who was the former president of the PTA who lives close to the school.

She then contacted the school.

“(I was told) hardly any details at all.  At first I was told I couldn’t go get my son because he takes the school bus. So I was waiting for him to come home, but as soon as I turned on the TV, I saw all the buses sitting there.  So I was tuning in for a while trying not to freak out.  As soon as I saw parents walking into the school to get their kids, I left to pick him up,” said Johnson.

Patty Glaser, a spokeswoman for the school district, said school will be open on Thursday.  She said grief counselors will be available for teachers, students and parents.