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 four others — including two of his cousins — before turning the gun on himself, officials and witnesses said.
Students said the gunman was staring at his victims 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.
Students and parents said Fryberg was a member of a prominent family from the nearby Tulalip Indian tribes and a freshman who played on the high school football team. He was introduced at a football game as a prince in the 2014 homecoming court, 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 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.
Isabella MacKeige, 18, was having lunch with a friend when they suddenly heard gunshots behind them.
“I heard six shots go off and I turned and saw people diving under the tables,” she told The Associated Press. “In my brain I thought ‘run!’ So I left my backpack, my phone and my purse and got out the door as fast as I could.”
MacKeige and the other students in the cafeteria rushed out the door. Some students got hurt when they tripped and fell in the chaos, she said. They ran across an open field to the fence that circles the schoolyard and climbed over.
Some students described Jaylen 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.”
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.
“He looked happy,” Heckendorf said.