Shooter kills 1, self at Seattle-area school

Associated Press

MARYSVILLE, Wash.

A student recently crowned freshman class Homecoming prince walked into his Seattle-area high-school cafeteria Friday and opened fire without shouting or arguing, 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 out of 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 freshman who played on the high-school football team. He was introduced at a football game as the school’s 2014 Homecoming court freshman 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 recently had 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 unidentified young women were at Providence Everett Medical Center, and 15-year-old Andrew Fryberg was at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, a hospital official said.

Another victim, 14-year-old Nate Hatch, was listed in serious condition at Harborview, the hospital said. Family members told KIRO-TV that Andrew Fryberg and Hatch are cousins of Jaylen Fryberg.

Witnesses described the shooter as methodical inside the cafeteria.

Brian Patrick said his daughter, a freshman, was 10 feet from him 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.”

Student Austin Taylor told KING-TV that the shooter “was just staring down every one of his victims as he shot them.”

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

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