An Everett man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing a 13-year-old boy who was simply walking to school, closing out a case that began with a random, unprovoked attack on a North Everett sidewalk and ended with a jury verdict nearly two years later. Andrew Freeman, who was 21 at the time of the attack, was arrested on a bus less than two weeks after the stabbing, following a tip from a community member who recognized him from a police bulletin.
The attack happened on 25th Street near Broadway in North Everett just before 8 a.m. on January 16, 2025, according to komonews.com. The boy made it to North Middle School with stab wounds, and he was first taken to Providence Regional Medical Center in stable condition, per the seed reporting from FOX 13 Seattle. Komonews.com reports he was later moved to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after doctors determined one of the stab wounds may have punctured his lung. Accounts differ in their descriptions of the attack: komonews.com reported the boy was stabbed a total of five times, while FOX 13 Seattle reported that Freeman attacked him twice with a pocketknife.
A Manhunt That Started With Drones and K-9s
Freeman fled the scene immediately after the attack, and Everett police launched a large-scale search using drones and K-9 units, but they did not locate him that day, the same komonews.com account notes. In a strange twist, Freeman had already been arrested that same morning on an unrelated controlled-substance charge and released the next day, according to everettpost.com.
With no suspect in custody, investigators turned to surveillance footage. Police collected images of Freeman captured by nearby businesses and circulated them publicly, the komonews.com report states. On January 19, 2025, police publicly identified Freeman as a person of interest, per heraldnet.com.
Tip From the Public Leads to Arrest on a City Bus
The break in the case came within a week of the attack, when a community member recognized Freeman from the public bulletin and called police, the same komonews.com account notes. Officers arrested Freeman on January 29, 2025, heraldnet.com's report states, taking him into custody without incident on a city bus around 4 p.m. that day and booking him on suspicion of felony first-degree assault with a deadly weapon.
Court records referenced in the reporting show Freeman had prior convictions for second-degree robbery and third-degree assault from 2022 and 2023, and four misdemeanor graffiti convictions in Everett, according to the seed facts drawn from Everett Police Department records and FOX 13 Seattle's reporting. At the time of the January 16 stabbing, Freeman had recently been released from jail after serving a 13-month sentence for robbery and had violated parole several times in the weeks prior, komonews.com reports.
Jury Convicts Freeman; Motive Remains Unknown
According to myeverettnews.com, Freeman was convicted on September 1, 2026, of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon enhancement and a rapid recidivism aggravator, and was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison. He will serve his sentence in the custody of the Washington State Department of Corrections.
Despite the extensive investigation, authorities have not disclosed a motive for the attack. Everett Police Chief John DeRousse said plainly, as reported by everettpost.com, “We still have no idea why it occurred.” That admission has left the community with a conviction and a sentence, but no explanation for why a 13-year-old on his way to school became the target of a random and unprovoked attack.
