Parents and officials gathered Tuesday to discuss the aftermath of Friday’s shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School that left three students dead, including the gunman, and three others injured.
Parents listened as Tulalip tribal leaders, school district officials and law enforcement officials spoke. The main message: If we stay united, we’ll get through this together.
Alluding to some of the negative comments that have appeared on social media, officials told parents not to let them divide the community.
A national expert on dealing with tragedies like this told parents that believe it or not, they’re in the honeymoon phase of the process, that adrenaline is still coursing through their kids’ veins, helping them cope.
In the weeks to come, the expert said, parents should expect their kids to become irritable and to even lash out. Indulge them, she said, and in time, families will get through this together.
Friday morning, freshman Jaylen Fryberg opened fire inside the school cafeteria where he'd invited five of his friends to join him for lunch, investigators said. Fryberg wounded five students, two fatally, before turning the gun on himself.
Zoe R. Galasso, 14, died of a gunshot wound to the head Friday. A second victim, 14-year-old Gia Soriano, was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center with a head wound. She died Sunday.
Two of the surviving victims suffered head wounds. The third victim has a jaw injury.
Police have not established a motive. The full investigation is expected to take several months, they said.
