A judge sentenced a 16-year-old Vancouver boy to 7¾ years in juvenile detention for shooting at two teens outside Evergreen High School in October.
Kikarson Asan pleaded guilty Friday in Clark County Superior Court to first-degree assault with a firearm.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Luka Vitasovic called it a difficult case, as he tried to balance the seriousness of the shooting with Asan’s age. He said the 93-month sentence means Asan will remain in a juvenile facility, rather than adult prison, in hopes for the best chance at rehabilitation.
“Obviously, a very, very concerning set of facts,” Vitasovic said. “Countering that is we’re dealing with a 16-year-old kid who’s potentially a decade away from having even a fully developed brain and really appreciating consequences.”
Vancouver police responded at 1:08 p.m. Oct. 19 to the campus at 14300 N.E. 18th St., in east Vancouver. When officers arrived, they found multiple shell casings on the ground between the school and football field, according to a probable cause affidavit.
One round embedded into the wall of a portable unit at the school, which was unoccupied and used for storage, the prosecutor noted.
Two witnesses told police a male in all black shot at people who were running away, court records state.
School officials told officers they identified the person with the gun as Asan and two 15-year-old boys as the people who were running away from him, according to the affidavit.
Two staff members said they were outside and saw Asan pull a gun from his waistband, chamber a round and fire. One said she was nearly in the line of fire when she heard him shoot multiple rounds. Neither of them reported seeing any others with guns, the affidavit states.
Defense attorney Marina Spencer said Asan regrets the shooting and putting anyone, especially the staff members, in danger.
Vitasovic said surveillance video shows Asan was beaten up by several people prior to the shooting.
Police found Asan near the edge of school property and arrested him. They said he mentioned someone else having a gun, but he declined to say anything else to officers, according to court records.
School surveillance footage captured Asan shooting at the two teens. When the teens jumped over a fence, officers said it appeared Asan fired at them again, the affidavit states.
Asan could then be seen on the video running away before throwing the gun over a fence, into a forested area. Officers eventually recovered a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, according to court records.
Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency sent out a shelter-in-place alert to about 4,000 people who live within a mile radius of the campus. Officials lifted the shelter in place about two hours later. Students were bused to the Evergreen Public Schools district office, where parents could pick them up.
