Boy intended ‘maximum amount of pain’ in Graham-Kapowsin bathroom assault, charges say
A 15-year-old student at Graham Kapowsin High School accused of attacking another student in a school bathroom was charged Thursday in Pierce County Juvenile Court.
The charges come after videos spread on social media this week showing a student repeatedly punching another boy Monday while the victim shielded his face. Investigators said the attack only stopped when another student stepped in, and the victim was incapacitated on the floor.
The defendant was charged with fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor. The News Tribune does not generally name defendants charged as juveniles.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 25 at Remann Hall, the Pierce County juvenile detention center.
The victim’s mother told investigators her 15-year-old son is autistic and that he believed he was attacked as retribution for reporting other students for vaping, according to charging documents. Prosecutors wrote in the documents that the victim was not seriously injured.
In a letter sent to parents Wednesday, the school’s principal, Matt Yarkovsky, said the incident happened before school, and that both students went to class afterward. Bethel School District also released a statement addressing the attack.
The school district is conducting its own investigation. In his letter, Yarkovsky said in incidents such as this, the school often takes both students out of the building to help de-escalate the situation.
A group of Graham-Kapowsin High School students participated in a walkout Friday to show support for the student who was attacked, KOMO News reported.
Charging documents gave this account:
Law enforcement responded to Graham Kapowsin High School a day after an assault occurred in a school bathroom Feb. 14, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. Police learned that the students involved were two 15-year-olds.
One of the students walked into the bathroom and saw another student there. Prosecutors wrote that the student walking in later said he took off his backpack and earbuds because he felt like something was going to happen.
The teenager raised his hands in self defense and was punched in the head and body.
Police obtained video of the attack and spoke with the victim, witnesses and other people.
The video shows the two students standing about six to eight feet apart, according to the probable cause statement. The victim raised his hands to shield himself, and the other student took a step forward, pulling his right hand back to prepare a punch.
The victim was struck about 15 times. When law enforcement described the video, they said the attacker’s punches appeared to be trying to disorient the victim and inflict the maximum amount of pain.
“[The defendant] only stopped once another student stepped in to stop him after [the victim] was laying on the floor curled up and incapacitated,” the probable cause document states.
Prosecutors wrote that the victim did not obtain medical attention, but his mother reported a 2-1/2 inch swollen lump on his head.
The mother said her son was being observed for signs of a concussion. According to the probable cause document, he did not have a serious bodily injury, and prosecutors noted that he did not lose a tooth.
