A student at a Washington state high school is dead after opening fire in the school’s cafeteria, killing one person and seriously wounding four others before apparently turning the gun on himself.
Witnesses said Jaylen Fryberg, 15, who was recently named as Marysville-Pilchuck high school’s homecoming prince, opened fire with a handgun at about 10.40am on Friday, prompting chaos as hundreds of students and staff members fled and hid in classrooms.
A female student was killed and four other students were taken to hospital.
Authorities placed the school in lockdown as police raced to the scene and sealed off the area, about 35 miles north of Seattle.
Classmates and several of Fryberg’s relatives told local media he was the shooter but authorities did not immediately confirm the name.
A news channel quoted an uncle saying the teenager was a popular boy who liked the outdoors and was “not a monster”.
Robert Fryberg, who identified himself as Jaylen’s brother, tweeted his shock. “I just heard some news and I pray to God that it is not true.” Later he tweeted: “I’m gonna miss you little bro. Only God can judge you.”
The Frybergs are a prominent family in the Tulalip tribe. “Any time something happens to one of our kids, it affects everyone,” the tribe’s communications director, Niki Cleary, told reporters. “Everybody will be dealing with this for a long time.”
Jaylen Fryberg’s own recent Twitter postings suggested angst and heartache.
His last, from Thursday, said: “It won’t last … It’ll never last …”
On 20 October, he tweeted: “Alright. You fucking got me … That broke me.”
Some reports said he recently broke up with his girlfriend, was suspended from the football team and had been the victim of bullying, possibly over his Native American heritage.
Local media quoted law enforcement sources who said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The four wounded classmates were in serious condition. One boy was being treated for a jaw wound at Harborview medical center in Seattle. Two girls and a boy were being treated for head wounds at Providence regional medical center. Dr Joanne Roberts, the chief medical officer, said they were in critical condition. “Each is suffering tremendously,” she told a press conference. Doctors focused on stopping the bleeding and controlling swelling.
Shortly after the shooting an alarm sounded, prompting some students to initially think it was a fire drill.
One student told Kiro TV that the shooter shot himself in the neck after struggling with a lunch lady who grabbed his arm. He called her a “real hero”. The report prompted an instant hashtag: #lunchladyhero.
Freshmen Brandon Carr, 15, and Kobe Baumann, 14, told the Seattle Times they were just outside the cafeteria when the shooting happened.
“We started hearing these loud banging noises, like someone hitting a trash can,” said Carr said. They heard screaming and yelling.
“Once I knew it was gunshots, we just booked it,” Carr said.
They joined about two dozen teenagers inside a classroom with police and FBI. Police told them to stay in there. “Everybody in the classroom was just freaking out crying,” Carr said. Eventually, they were told they could leave, and were loaded onto buses.
Video taken from helicopter showed hundreds of students fleeing buildings, some with their hands up, as police, fire and medical units arrived.
Students were taken by bus to a nearby church while police searched the sprawling campus to make sure there were no additional gunmen or casualties.
Marysville police commander Robb Lamoureux told a news conference details were still scant. “The shooting did originate in the cafeteria as we understand it, and so there was some type of activity there in the cafeteria, it is known.”
Barack Obama was briefed about the shooting. Marysville mayor, Jon Nehring, said: “Our priority right now is to stand with the families.” June Robinson, a state house representative, said the news “drives a knife through your heart”. She added: “We’re not immune to violence.”
