Federal Way High student charged after alleged school shooting plan

Published 4:30 pm Friday, April 17, 2026

A Federal Way High School student has been charged with felony harassment after he allegedly threatened to shoot and kill his ex-girlfriend while at school.

On April 11, Federal Way police officers arrested Brandon Martinez, 18, of Des Moines, after he reportedly planned to shoot his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend at school on April 13. Subsequently, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Martinez with domestic violence felony harassment.

According to charging documents, Martinez committed the crime of domestic violence felony harassment when he threatened to cause bodily injury and death to his ex-girlfriend, and the words or conduct placed her in reasonable fear that the threat would be carried out.

Martinez remains in custody on a $500,000 bail after his first court appearance, according to the prosecutor’s office. Martinez’s next court hearing, scheduled for April 20, is an arraignment where an initial plea is entered.

According to Federal Way Police Department Deputy Chief Casey Jones, this case remains under active investigation, with detectives pursuing several aspects of the case.

“It has grown legs, but many of the things that we are hearing turn out to be rumors,” Jones told the Mirror.

Details of the case

According to charging documents, on April 8, Martinez’s ex-girlfriend reported to a school resource officer that she was made aware of a group chat where Martinez was threatening to kill her. She then shared with officers screenshots from the group chat where Martinez was speaking with two others about killing her.

In the screenshots, the people are asking Martinez if his ex-girlfriend has to die, to which Martinez states that he made it clear already that she does. Martinez and the two others then begin discussing how he would kill his ex-girlfriend, and one of the people in the chat states, “Let’s all shoot her.”

Martinez’s ex-girlfriend added that she previously saw Martinez possessing firearms, and she believed that he might be in search of a new one.

Documents state that Martinez and his ex-girlfriend are students at Federal Way High School and that they dated for about two years before breaking up in March 2026.

At about 3:30 a.m. April 11, officers received a report from a woman stating that Martinez told her through Instagram chat that he had plans to shoot his ex-girlfriend on April 13 at school. The woman then sent officers screenshots of her and Martinez’s conversation, where he states that he was only going to shoot his ex-girlfriend, not random people, but that he would tell her if she should not go to school on April 13, according to documents.

On April 11, Federal Way police responded to his home in Des Moines to arrest him. While being arrested, Martinez told officers that he had a magazine in his pocket, and when officers asked where the gun was, he told officers it was in his room, according to documents.

When officers brought Martinez to an interview room, he initially said he wanted a lawyer, but later said he wished to speak with the officers. When interviewed by officers, Martinez stated that he had ongoing thoughts of killing his ex-girlfriend, and said he had made plans to go to her bus stop and use a knife to end her life. He told officers that he lost the knife he had planned to use to kill her, according to court documents.

Regarding shooting his ex-girlfriend, Martinez told officers that he had purchased two firearms, but that he gave one of them to an unidentified male for the purpose of killing his ex-girlfriend. Martinez further said that two days prior, he purchased an additional firearm from an unidentified male, and that it was in his home. Officers later located that firearm — a pistol — under his pillow alongside a box of ammunition. Officers additionally located inside a backpack a ski mask, gloves, matches and a pair of handcuffs.

During the interview, officers asked Martinez about some messages where he stated that he would kill his ex-girlfriend by “slicing her up” and “pouring gasoline on her.” Documents also state that Martinez told multiple people about his plans, and he solicited at least two people to commit the murder for him.

According to documents, Martinez claimed that hours before officers arrested him, he decided not to go through with his plans because he started talking to a new girl who persuaded him not to kill his ex-girlfriend. The new girl he started talking to is the individual who shared Instagram chat screenshots with officers, where Martinez stated that he planned to shoot his ex-girlfriend on April 13 at school, according to documents.