SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Authorities have identified the man shot and killed outside Evergreen Middle School as 20-year-old Joel Malin.
According to the sheriff’s office, when a deputy approached Malin, the 6-foot-6 man accosted the officer and presented what appeared to be a firearm. The deputy fired two shots, fatally wounding Malin. The sheriff’s office indicated that Malin may have called 911 on himself prior to the encounter.
A school resource deputy stationed at University High School received the call about the incident and arrived at Evergreen Middle School within minutes. The rapid response raised questions about the effectiveness of armed officers in schools—a topic that has sparked considerable debate in recent years.
School districts across Spokane County employ different strategies to protect students and staff on campus. Spokane County has armed deputies, known as school resource officers, stationed at most school districts, including Mead and Central Valley. These deputies are primarily stationed at high schools but regularly patrol middle and elementary schools. They have the authority to make arrests and respond to threats on campus.
Commissioned officers and deputies receive specific, in-depth training from the sheriff’s office. Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels emphasized the importance of their presence on school grounds.
“Their primary reason for being there is to make sure we have a secure presence on the property and you know to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make sure our kids are safe,” Nowels said.
Marla Nunberg, communications director at Central Valley School District, credited the resource deputy’s presence with making a tangible difference during the incident.
“It’s absolutely important,” Nunberg said. “I think we could all do the what-ifs, but we’d prefer not to do that. By having the resource deputy there, it made a true difference in school safety.”
Spokane Public Schools takes a different approach. Rather than employing armed officers, the district uses what it calls “campus safety specialists” at high schools, who also patrol other schools in the district. These specialists are hired by the district and trained by Spokane Police but are unarmed and lack the authority to make arrests. They work closely with law enforcement on potential safety threats.
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