Man shot by deputy outside Evergreen Middle School identified as 20-year-old former student with autism

Gunfire on Tuesday outside Evergreen Middle School marked the first shooting at a Spokane Valley school. No students or staff were injured. A sheriff’s deputy, also the school resource officer assigned to Central Valley High School, shot and killed 20-year-old Joel Malin on Evergreen’s campus after reports of a suspicious man approaching the school with a gun. Malin was autistic and had the mental capacity of a 13-year-old, said Rondi Thorp, an attorney representing the Malin family. Thorp said Malin did not intend to carry out a school shooting; he once attended Evergreen before going on to graduate from North Central High School in Spokane. “Joel’s mom always told him if he needed help he could go to the school that he lived near and had attended for middle school and felt safe at for help,” Thorp wrote in a news release issued Wednesday evening.

Missing media or need the complete publisher report? Open The Spokesman-Review ↗