Wash. boy, 9, who brought gun to school, writes apology to wounded classmate
(CBS/AP) SEATTLE - A 9-year-old Washington boy accused of bringing a gun to a Bremerton elementary school and injuring a classmate when it accidentally discharged, has written a letter of apology to the victim.
He sent the court-mandated letter to third-grader Amina Kocer-Bowman, who was badly injured in the Feb. 22 shooting, reports local station KOMO.
"I'm sorry I hurt you because I brought a gun to school. I did not mean for any one to get hurt. I wish no one got hurt," the boy reportedly wrote. "I made a bad choice. I was scared and afraid, and I did not solve my problem well."
Amina was released Tuesday afternoon from Harborview Medical Center. She walked out of the hospital on her own. Her surgeon, Dr. Eileen Bulger, said Amina was doing well. Her father said the family was "happy to have her with us."
The girl underwent five surgeries after the shooting shattered her elbow and ripped through internal organs.
The bullet fired from a .45-caliber handgun in the backpack of her 9-year-old classmate at Armin Jahr Elementary. The gun went off when he dropped his backpack on a desk.
"I will stay away from guns. I should have told a grown-up. I promise to learn better ways to solve my problem," the boy wrote in his apology letter, KOMO reports.
The Kitsap County prosecutor charged the boy's mother and her boyfriend with felony assault for negligently allowing the boy access to the gun. They have pleaded not guilty.
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