A former McNary High School student is suing the Salem-Keizer School District for almost $900,000, claiming in a lawsuit that a fellow student assaulted him.
Brandon Bautista Martinez, a 2025 graduate of McNary High School, is accusing the school district of failing to protect him from another student with a history of threatening violence, the complaint said.
The district’s failure to warn Bautista Martinez led to an assault that broke his clavicle, the complaint said.
The lawsuit, filed in Marion County Circuit Court on Feb. 3, seeks $500,000 in noneconomic damages, $350,000 for future lost earnings and $39,889 for medical expenses.
The suit also asks for compensation for any future medical treatment Bautista Martinez needs to treat his injuries.
His attorneys, Lourdes Sánchez and Apolinar Montero-Sánchez of Eugene, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
His lawsuit stems from an incident on Feb. 5, 2024, when he and the other student, Connor Freymann, were students at McNary, the complaint said. Freymann graduated in 2025 as well.
Freymann couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
The lawsuit says that as Bautista Martinez walked down a school hallway, Freymann “picked him up unexpectedly from behind and slammed him on the ground,” the complaint said. There was no information in the complaint about previous interactions between the two.
The assault broke Bautista Martinez’s right clavicle, which has since affected his mental health and regular activities, the lawsuit said.
The suit accused the school district of failing to “eliminate the danger” based on Freymann’s previous violent threats, or to warn Bautista Martinez that “he would be assaulted and injured” on school property.
Bautista Martinez’s suit alleged the assault was not “the first instance of (Freymann’s) anger and menacing,” and that the school district was aware of his “behavior and propensity for violence.”
The school district is accused of violating its policy on bullying and harassment.
School principals are to investigate every report of “hazing, harassment, intimidation, bullying, cyberbullying and/or menacing,” according to the policy.
District employees “knew, or should have known and had notice of threats and violence by (Freymann) at school and then failed to reasonably act to protect its students,” the lawsuit alleges.
Salem-Keizer School District spokesman Aaron Harada said he couldn’t address questions, citing the pending litigation.
“The safety of our students is our top priority, and when schools receive reports of safety concerns, they are investigated. McNary has high expectations for students and strives to build a school culture where everyone feels safe and comfortable, so they can focus on learning and building positive relationships,” Harada said in an email.
Martinez’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment Thursday, Feb. 19.
Bautista Martinez’s complaint also included a demand for a jury trial.
Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].
