With the growth far outstripping available capacity at Mariner, it was apparent that an additional high school was needed to handle future secondary students.

[6] On November 23, 2015, Kamiak was involved in a school shooting scare when it was put under lockdown after a teacher called 9-1-1 around 9:38 AM, reporting that she heard gunshots near her third-floor classroom.

Mukilteo police responded to the scene with assistance from multiple law enforcement agencies, which included the Washington State Patrol and the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office as well as the police departments of Edmonds, Everett, Lynnwood, and Mill Creek; an Everett officer was involved in a rear-end collision with another driver on SR 526 at its eastern terminus while responding to the incident.

Officers at the scene found residue from two firecrackers in a stairwell between the second and third floors, conducting a full sweep of the campus after the discovery.

O'Connor was ultimately thwarted when his grandmother discovered the plot while going through his journal and called 9-1-1 to report it; he pled guilty to all charges brought against him on December 7 and was subsequently sentenced to 22½ years in prison on February 28, 2019.