http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/reports-of-shooting-at-maryville-pilchuck-high-school-cops-say-1.9542614

 

 

Oh my. :(

Thank God he is ok Vette. Physically. I will pray for his peace of mind. Cause that cant be something you get over easily.

Two dead so far including the gunmen, four critically wounded.

This is so terrible

Terrible Vette, just terrible. It's awful anyway, but much worse when you have skin in the game.

10:00 pm Eastern time, UPDATE

 

School gunman was Homecoming prince, students say

MARYSVILLE, Wash. (AP) — A student recently crowned freshman class Homecoming prince walked into his Seattle-area high school cafeteria Friday and opened fire, killing one person and shooting several others in the head before turning the gun on himself, officials and witnesses said.

Students said the gunman was staring at students as he shot them inside the cafeteria at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. The shootings set off a chaotic scene as students ran from the cafeteria and building in a frantic dash to safety, while others were told to stay put inside classrooms at the school 30 miles north of Seattle.

The gunman was identified as student Jaylen Fryberg, a government official with direct knowledge of the shooting told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Students and parents said Fryberg was a member of a prominent family from the nearby Tulalip Indian tribe and a freshman who played on the high school football team. He was introduced at a football game as the school's 2014 Homecoming court freshmen class prince, according to a video shot by parent Jim McGauhey.

Marysville Police Commander Robb Lamoureux said the gunman died of a self-inflicted wound, but he could not provide more details.

Shaylee Bass, 15, a sophomore at the school, said Fryberg had recently gotten into a fight with another boy over a girl.

"He was very upset about that," said Bass, who was stunned by the shooting.

"He was not a violent person," she said. "His family is known all around town. He was very well known. That's what makes it so bizarre."

Three of the victims had head wounds and were in critical condition. Two young women were taken to Providence Everett Medical Center, and a 15-year-old boy was at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, hospital officials said. Another victim, a 14-year-old boy, was listed in serious condition at Harborview as well, the hospital said.

Witnesses described the shooter as methodical inside the cafeteria.

Brian Patrick said his daughter, a freshman, was 10 feet from the gunman when the shooting occurred. She ran from the cafeteria and immediately called her mother.

Patrick said his daughter told him, "The guy walked into the cafeteria, pulled out a gun and started shooting. No arguing, no yelling."

A crowd of parents later waited in a parking lot outside a nearby church where they were reunited with their children. Buses pulled up periodically to drop off students evacuated from the school. Some ran to hug their mothers and fathers.

Patrick said after the shooting that his other daughter, a senior at the school, was "hysterical" when she called him from her classroom.

"I thought, 'God let my kids be safe," he said.

Many students described Fryberg as a happy, popular student, but social media accounts suggested he was struggling with an unidentified problem.

On Wednesday, a posting on his Twitter account read: "It won't last ... It'll never last." On Monday, another tweet said: "I should have listened. ... You were right ... The whole time you were right."

Marysville-Pilchuck High School has many students from the Tulalip Indian tribe.

Ron Iukes, a youth counselor with the tribe, said Fryberg was from a well-known tribal family.

"They're real good people, very loving, a big part of the community," he said. "Jaylen was one of our good kids. It's just a shock this happened. I've known this boy since he was a baby. It's just devastating."

Nathan Heckendorf, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, said he saw Fryberg Friday morning before the shooting and there was nothing to indicate he was upset.

"He looked happy, everything seemed fine," Heckendorf said.

State Sen. John McCoy, a tribal member, said the shooting devastated the community.

"I do know the family," of the shooter, McCoy said. "We're all related in one shape or form. We live and work and play together."

___

Associated Press photographer Ted Warren contributed to this report from Marysville, and AP writers Gene Johnson and Chris Grygiel contributed from Seattle.

I saw my brother tonight, he was actually at the lunch table and the shooter and the victims were all his friends. He could just as easily been shot today. I am so grateful to God for sparing him and feel terrible about the kids who died.

Thank you

This is terrible. I'm glad your brother is okay, Vette. How scary.

Want to know why it is important that your child fit into some societal norms?

This is why. You are NOT going to change the world with your kid.

It's not the jocks that are committing these crimes--it's the frickin' dweebs and nerds.

Sorry, buddy, you ain't dating the prom queen. Get over yourself.

BUT--parents send the message over and over that they can achieve that. They can do "anything" they want. There are no "losers". Everyone gets a trophy.

We teach those lessons, and then we wonder why some kids come uncorked when they don't "win".

Our school did a full out "Active Shooter Drill". School was not in session that day. But, we coordinated the Police and EMS and they were happy to participate. Only the Higher ups in the Police Dept and EMS knew this was only a drill. So, with our administrative team, a live call went out to EMS. The EMS operator and responders had no knowledge this was a drill. And, then we proceeded with our normal procedures as did police and EMS. We had a fake "active shooter" actually go through the building and blanks were fired which helped give the staff the awareness of what a gun firing in a school actually sounds like. We had victims in the hall and so forth. It was very well done. And, it was great training for our local police and EMS system.

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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Our school did a full out "Active Shooter Drill". School was not in session that day. But, we coordinated the Police and EMS and they were happy to participate. Only the Higher ups in the Police Dept and EMS knew this was only a drill. So, with our administrative team, a live call went out to EMS. The EMS operator and responders had no knowledge this was a drill. And, then we proceeded with our normal procedures as did police and EMS. We had a fake "active shooter" actually go through the building and blanks were fired which helped give the staff the awareness of what a gun firing in a school actually sounds like. We had victims in the hall and so forth. It was very well done. And, it was great training for our local police and EMS system.

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 That's amazing Gaga! It would be of some small comfort to know your school is prepared. 

 

How did you ensure they knew it wasn't a drill if school was not in session? Our police have kids in the school system, and the same with the EMS, etc. It comes with living in a small town, which I thought you did as well. The first thing our responders would think was "why are we getting a call like this, school isn't even in session today?"  Just curious. 

Ok, but didn't the officers know there were no kids in school?

And, there are things going on in our school all the time. Sports and many other activities. So, I don't think they dont' necessarily know what is going on there every second of the day. But, not really sure what point you are trying to make? That the drill was a waste of time or not effective or something? It was very well done, highly professional and the what the school cameras caught on tape were pretty scary looking.

Gaga - relax. I am simply curious and trying to understand. That is all. Not everything you read is an attack or a criticism.

In our drop off line in the morning, we have several cruisers with officers dropping off their children. Our police force would know there was no school. I was wondering how yours was unaware. Knowing there are no children at risk, I think, would change how they responded.

That's all.

Well, gee, I kind of hope they would respond the same. That LIVES were in danger. Wow.

The point is the that EMS and the Police are not going to know at any one time how many people are in the building so an active shooter going about blowing people's heads off might enact the same fast and furious response. Wow. I didn't realize the lives of teachers weren't as important. My bad.