Jaylen Fryberg

Name

Jaylen Fryberg

Status / outcome

Jaylen Fryberg committed suicide by shooting himself the same day. He died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Background

Jaylen Ray Fryberg (July 31, 1999 – October 24, 2014) was a 15-year-old freshman student at Marysville Pilchuck High School. He was a wrestler and football player at the school. He was described as "generally happy", "a really nice kid", and "not a violent person". Fryberg was of Native American descent and a member of the Tulalip tribe. He was close friends with his cousins Andrew Fryberg and Nate Hatch. One week prior to the shooting, Fryberg had been announced as the school's freshman homecoming prince at a football game. He used multiple social media accounts that frequently depicted him hunting and using rifles. The ownership of the Beretta handgun used in the shooting was traced to Fryberg's father. Fryberg's last few Twitter posts were described as "emotional". Hours before the shooting, a fellow student had asked him if he was doing okay following a fight with another student who had been using racial slurs. Fryberg had been suspended from school and the football team following the fight. A student claimed that Fryberg fought with a student over a girl. Another student claimed that one of Fryberg's victims was a girl who turned him down when he asked her out on a date. This girl was later identified as Zoë Raine Galasso. Galasso was reported to have been dating Fryberg's cousin Andrew at the time. Fryberg had an ex-girlfriend at the time of the shooting, Shilene George, to whom he sent pictures of him with the handgun in the school cafeteria immediately prior to the shooting. She told authorities she was forced to end the relationship days prior to the shooting after Fryberg became violent with her. Fryberg's posts to Twitter shortly before the shooting were believed to have been written because of the breakup.

The offence

Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting

The Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting occurred in Marysville, Washington, on October 24, 2014. At lunchtime, Fryberg invited several students, all of whom were friends, to meet him for lunch via text message. He reportedly sent a text message to his parents, although details of the message have not been revealed. At lunch, the friends sat together at one table. Fryberg entered the school cafeteria and sat down at a different table. At 10:39 a.m., according to eyewitnesses, Fryberg stood up, approached the table where the friends were sitting, and had a verbal altercation with them. He then pulled out a .40-caliber Beretta handgun and fired at least eight shots. Multiple students were shot in what was described as a "calm, methodical way". During the shooting, Fryberg was described by a witness as having "a blank stare" and "staring at the victims as he shot them". He appeared to be targeting only the table where his friends were sitting. At the time of the shooting, about ten students were seated at that table. Fryberg fatally wounded four and shot five other students; he later fatally shot himself.

Employee intervention claim and clarification

An early eyewitness report stated that an adult school staff member tried to intervene by grabbing Fryberg's arm, inadvertently causing him to fatally shoot himself in the neck. The employee was later identified as first-year social studies teacher Megan Silberberger. Police officials and the Snohomish County medical examiner later clarified that Fryberg committed suicide by shooting himself in the head and that Silberberger did not touch him in the moments preceding his death. Soon after Fryberg committed suicide, Silberberger contacted authorities. Silberberger had contacted authorities shortly after Fryberg's suicide. Police records later described that Fryberg may have been attempting to reload when Silberberger tried to apprehend him.

Motive

The motive for the shooting was unknown. A student at the school stated that "[he] was angry at a girl who would not date him, and that the girl was one of the people shot". That claim was supported by other classmates and by Fryberg's family members.

Investigation / emergency response

9-1-1 and radio communications

Recordings of police radio communications during the event were released by the Snohomish County Police Staff and Auxiliary Services Center after requests for public records. A timeline was provided by Marysville police spokesman Robb Lamoureux. An anonymous 9-1-1 caller, using a cellphone, first alerted police to the shooting. The school resource officer was the first law enforcement officer to make contact with the victims, arriving at the scene a minute after the first 9-1-1 call was received. He immediately reported that a fire alarm was going off and that there were students and staff evacuating from the building. A dispatcher then informed him about a report of a possible shooting in the cafeteria. The officer responded, "Ocean 12, it's confirmed. We have a shooter. We have five down." He later said, "Shooter is DOA [dead on arrival]. We have got apparently four [victims.]" Soon afterward, he said, "Ocean 12, I need aid here. I have two that are still breathing and alive. Looks like I have three possibly deceased."

Paramedics and on-scene conditions

The first paramedics arrived on the scene ten minutes after the first radio dispatch. At the time of the shooting, approximately 50 people were inside the cafeteria. The school went on lockdown "due to an emergency situation," according to a statement by the school.

Helicopter and ambulance transport dispute

People in Seattle questioned whether everything possible was done to save the victims' lives. They wondered why paramedics took the grievously wounded students by ambulance to Everett’s Providence Regional Medical Center instead of loading them onto helicopters for a flight to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Airlift Northwest released a timeline three days after the shootings describing how a helicopter carrying trained trauma nurses was hovering over the high school when it was waved off by Marysville firefighters. Emergency radio traffic recordings, emergency dispatch logs, interviews, and other public records cast doubt on that version of events. When paramedics in Marysville began transporting patients to Everett, they were told by dispatchers that Airlift Northwest helicopters, sent from Seattle and Bellingham, were still roughly 20 minutes away. Moments before the helicopters were canceled, Airlift Northwest told emergency dispatchers those helicopters still were 14 minutes away from the high school. Airlift Northwest later acknowledged that the only helicopter it had near the school as the emergency unfolded was not responding to the shootings; it was flying back to base in Arlington after completing an unrelated call. Susan Gregg, a spokeswoman for both Harborview and Airlift Northwest, said: "They were flying their normal route and from their vantage point saw the activity on the ground. They were not part of the Airlift Northwest deployment to the scene, but were definitely over the area." The helicopter that was reported to be over the high school was a different aircraft than Airlift Northwest listed in its original timeline. Firefighters did not learn of its presence until days later. Airlift Northwest did not have access to radio channels that would have allowed direct communication with local firefighters. The dispatch logs showed that each of the four ambulance rides from Marysville to Everett, a roughly 11-mile trip, took 12 minutes or less. A large medical team was waiting at the Everett hospital, including two heart surgeons, two neurosurgeons, a chest surgeon, a vascular surgeon, and 12 emergency room physicians. Greg Corn, chief of the Marysville Fire District, was at the high school the morning of the shootings and thought the helicopters circling overhead were all television media. Marysville paramedics followed training and protocols, including describing the nature of the patients’ injuries to emergency doctors at Providence. The doctors told them to bring all of the victims to Providence. Corn said: "Even if we would have known that helicopter was there, we still would have gone to Providence. That was where we were directed." Corn said waiting for a helicopter to land in Marysville and safely load patients would have taken at least 10 minutes, plus time in the air for transport, landing, and unloading at the hospital. Corn said: "When the wounded students were being loaded into ambulances, none of those (airlift) helicopters would have been overhead, none of the helicopters we were aware of." Steve Guptill, the assistant fire chief in Monroe, served as board chairman for SNOPAC and headed up SNOPAC’s advisory group on fire-service operations. Guptill was chairman of a committee within the Snohomish County Fire Chiefs Association focused on emergency operation issues and making recommendations for countywide changes. Guptill said: "I think he made an excellent decision under the circumstances he was dealing with." Guptill said firefighters recognized airlift helicopters as “the gold standard of rapid transport”. Guptill said considering the “golden hour” window after a traumatic injury led to thinking about the time required to get a patient into a helicopter and off to Seattle. Guptill said: "When we start thinking about the golden hour and what’s best for our patients, we have to consider all the pieces of the puzzle." Guptill focused on improving radio communications with Airlift Northwest. Days before the shootings, Airlift Northwest asked the county fire chiefs association for access to additional firefighter radio channels. The agreement was moving through final levels of approval. Chief pilot Bill Quistorf said improved communications likely would not have changed transport decisions at Marysville Pilchuck. Kurt Mills, SNOPAC Executive Director, said: "They already had permission on our radio system, but they’re expanding the number of talk groups that they have." An emergency medical response review occurred in a private meeting with paramedics, doctors from Providence and Harborview, Airlift Northwest, and state health officials. Corn said he felt questions about decisions made by crews were put to rest once facts were shared. Corn also said decisions and actions were in the best interest of patients. The fire chief said he was "very comfortable and confident in the decisions and actions our personnel took at the scene (and) that those decisions and those actions were in the best interest of those patients — even after the light of scrutiny."

Investigation expected to take months

The shootings remained under investigation by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, a special task force of homicide detectives typically assigned to investigate police-involved shootings. The investigation was expected to take months.

911 call content (additional witness reporting)

A girl hiding in an art room told the dispatcher her phone number. A police officer would call her. The dispatcher said: "Pick up the phone, the dispatcher said." The girl's voice trembled as she said goodbye. A dispatcher asked a boy, "There is what at the high school?" The boy said, "Gunshots, in the cafeteria." The dispatcher asked, "Anyone injured?" The boy said, "Yeah, this kid, he shot a couple of kids, I’m pretty sure." The dispatcher asked if he saw where the students were shot. The boy said, "No. I saw kids just drop to the ground, at the cafeteria table." Another boy hiding in a classroom with eight other students said he ran out of the lunch room. He told the dispatcher that Jaylen Fryberg, a freshman, was the shooter. The boy said Fryberg had a black handgun. The boy said, "If it was Jaylen, I know him. He didn’t seem ..." He was interrupted about what weapons may have been used. The boy said, "I think four people were hit or more." He told the dispatcher no one with him was hurt. He said they were safe and that he wasn't hearing anymore gunfire. He said, “I don’t want you to open that door. OK?”

Arrest

No arrest is described; the perpetrator died by suicide at the scene.

Trial / charges

No trial, charges, or court outcomes were described.

Sentencing / appeals

No sentencing or appeals were described.

Perpetrator communications

Multiple agencies investigated the shooting and sifted through hundreds of text messages and social media posts. Investigators found no evidence to support a rumor that students had expressed concerns about Jaylen Fryberg to school authorities before the shooting. Police spokeswoman Shari Ireton said Wednesday, "Investigators have found no evidence to support a rumor that students had expressed concerns about Jaylen Fryberg to school authorities before the shooting."

Detectives learned Fryberg had been upset by something that happened between him and a 15-year-old identified only by her initials and described as a "close friend". Investigators decided against including specifics in search warrant documents to protect her identity. The detective wrote that Fryberg's posts otherwise were "pretty normal". The change began Oct. 18.

Text messages and threats

On Oct. 18, Fryberg texted: "Ohk (sic) well don't bother coming to my funeral." On Oct. 22, Fryberg texted: "I set the date. Hopefully you regret not talking to me," He also texted: "You have no idea what I'm talking about. But you will" He also texted: "Bang bang I'm dead." When the friend asked Fryberg to stop, he replied: "No. You don't care. I don't care." When she stopped responding, Fryberg tried to reach her through another friend. On the morning of Oct. 24, Fryberg used Facebook to send that friend a picture of a gun sitting between his legs. He told the friend to have the girl "call me before I do this." That message was sent minutes before the shooting started.

Funeral-related texts

Moments before Fryberg shot his fellow students Oct. 24, he texted more than a dozen relatives, describing what he wanted to wear at his funeral and who should get his personal possessions. The boy asked relatives to apologize to the families of his friends "who get caught up in the (expletive) tomorrow" - referring to the day after the shooting. He also sent texts in the previous days to a female friend talking about his death and funeral. On the day of the shooting, a detective met with two of Fryberg's uncles. One man said he and 13 other relatives received a text from the boy minutes before the gunfire. The message title was: "My Funeral (expletive)." Detectives later searched Fryberg's room. The detective wrote: "My hope was that we could find a note or something that would help explain what happened," He also wrote: "Nothing of evidentiary value was located in Jaylen's room."

Victims and casualties

Fatalities and injuries at the scene

Zoë Galasso, 14, was killed at the scene by a gunshot wound to her head. Her death was ruled a homicide. Gia Soriano and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, both 14, were taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the head. The wounds were reportedly so severe that both were not immediately identifiable. On the evening of October 26, it was announced that Gia Soriano had died from her wounds. On October 31, one week after the shooting, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit was also confirmed to have died from her wounds. Andrew Fryberg, a cousin of Jaylen Fryberg, was also taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett in critical condition from a gunshot wound to the head. Late in the evening on November 7, two weeks after the shooting, it was confirmed that Andrew Fryberg had died from his wounds. Nate Hatch, another cousin of Jaylen Fryberg, suffered a gunshot wound in the jaw and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. His condition was listed in serious condition and he was placed in intensive care. His condition was upgraded to satisfactory on October 27 after having surgery to repair his jaw. Nate Hatch was discharged from the hospital on November 6. Two other students were treated for minor injuries at the school, and it was unclear whether these injuries were inflicted by gunfire. In early reports, at least six students were wounded.

Victims identified as friends

The victims were identified as friends of Fryberg. All were friends of Fryberg.

Counts referenced in radio communications and other reporting

According to early radio communications, officials reported "We have five down" and later "apparently four [victims.]" The officer later reported, "I have two that are still breathing and alive. An early eyewitness report stated Fryberg shot five other students and fatally wounded four before fatally shooting himself. Another report listed Killed were Zoe Galasso, Gia Soriano, and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, all 14, and Andrew Fryberg, 15. It reported Nate Hatch, 14, survived.

Other details

Lockdown and student evacuations

Some students fled the cafeteria immediately after the shooting started. Several climbed over the fence of a house next to the school and sought shelter there. Other students disregarded the school lockdown rules and fled their classrooms while they were in place. It took two hours for officers to evacuate hundreds of students who were still hiding inside the school. More than 100 witnesses were interviewed by investigators. The school reopened on November 3, with about fifteen counselors present on campus. Classes at Marysville Pilchuck High were cancelled for the following week, as well as an upcoming football game. The cafeteria where the shooting took place would not be reopened and was being considered for remodeling.

Threats involving the Tulalip tribe

In the wake of the shooting, threats were made against several students belonging to the Tulalip tribe, the Native American tribe Fryberg belonged to. A spokesman for the Marysville School District stated that the school district was taking the threats seriously.

Memorials, vigils, and observances

A vigil was attended by over 1000 people on the evening of October 24, 2014, at the Grove Church. The football team from Oak Harbor High School showed up in uniform. They had been scheduled to play Marysville Pilchuck in a playoff game for the division title Friday night, but it was canceled. Becky Cooke Berg, superintendent of the Marysville School District, said Oak Harbor, Washington had offered to accept second place out of respect for its opponents. Berg said: "We understand other teams in the league will be wearing red and white in support of Marysville-Pilchuck," Berg said. A second vigil occurred the next day at Mountain View Presbyterian Church. On October 27, a moment of silence was observed by the Marysville community at 10:39 a.m., exactly 72 hours from the moment the shooting started. On October 30, a memorial service was held for Fryberg at a recreation center in the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Hundreds of people were in attendance.

Statements by public figures and organizations

Washington State Senator John McCoy, a member of the Tulalip tribe, said in a released statement: "I do know the family. We're all related in one shape or form. We live and work and play together." Washington Governor Jay Inslee said in a Twitter post regarding the shooting: "Like all of WA, [my wife] and I have everyone at #MPHS in our hearts and prayers. Please take care of each other." He later declared November 3 "Red and White Day" in the state, urging Washington residents to wear red and white, the school colors of Marysville Pilchuck High, as a sign of support. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan pledged his support for the Marysville community and commented regarding the national issue of gun violence: "Gun violence has no place anywhere, least of all at our nation’s schools, and we must do more to keep guns out of the wrong hands." The Tulalip tribe released a statement on October 29 denouncing Fryberg's "horrific actions" and adding that the shooting was "the [act] of an individual, not a family, not a tribe". They later added: "We are supporting the family of Jaylen Fryberg in their time of loss, but that does not mean we condone his actions."

Football team support and helmet decals

The school football team was met by the Seattle Seahawks football team and were invited to their practice facility on October 28. On November 2, players on the Seahawks and the Oakland Raiders teams wore decals of Marysville Pilchuck High on their helmets during a game at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Inactive Seahawks players, coaches, and staff also wore lapel pins bearing the same decals. In addition, a moment of silence was observed before the game began.

Family and community reactions reported

Denise “Nessie” Hatch-Anderson said: "It's about accountability. He has not been made accountable," Lahneen Fryberg said: "Jaylen is not a victim. What he did was premeditated, calculated murder," Natasha “Tasha” Fryberg said: "As a family, we just try to remember the victims and their families through all of this," Tanisha “Tawny” Fryberg asked: "Why is this different?" Tawny Fryberg said: "Why is he seen as a victim? Because of the life he lived? Because they were family? He is not a victim, he is a murderer." Nessie Hatch said: "I didn't consider Jay a victim," and also said: "I loved him while he was here, but his actions have changed everyone's lives. He destroyed all of our lives. He totally changed my son's life." Nessie Hatch also said: "My son did forgive Jaylen, in the beginning," and later said: "But after he lost his friends, one after another, that forgiveness has gone from him, turned to anger." Tawny Fryberg said: "I don't want to live in hate. I can't live in hate. I won't hate them, but I will never forget, and I will not forgive them," and also said: "The way they are handling it, they are the ones building a wall," and said: "And to stand with my family, I can't forgive that." Nessie Hatch said: "We cannot thank everyone enough for the outpouring of love and support," and: "If it's seen as OK, we are teaching our younger generation that this is OK. We need to say it now, we need to teach them now, that what he did is wrong," and: "Silence is violence." Becky Cooke Berg said: "We understand other teams in the league will be wearing red and white in support of Marysville-Pilchuck," Berg said. Lahneen Fryberg said: "I thank God that (Lee) was there to take him," and also said that Andrew was her eldest son and had been her eldest son for 15 years.

Quotations

"A blank stare" "staring at the victims as he shot them" "calm, methodical way" "Ocean 12, it's confirmed. We have a shooter. We have five down." "Shooter is DOA [dead on arrival]. "Ocean 12, I need aid here. "Ocean 12, it's confirmed. We have a shooter. We have five down." "Gun violence has no place anywhere, least of all at our nation’s schools, and we must do more to keep guns out of the wrong hands." "I do know the family. "Like all of WA, [my wife] and I have everyone at #MPHS in our hearts and prayers. "Pick up the phone, the dispatcher said." "There is what at the high school?" "Gunshots, in the cafeteria," "Anyone injured?" "Yeah, this kid, he shot a couple of kids, I’m pretty sure," "No. "If it was Jaylen, I know him. He didn’t seem ..." "I think four people were hit or more," "I don’t want you to open that door. OK?" "Ohk (sic) well don't bother coming to my funeral." "I set the date. "You have no idea what I'm talking about. But you will" "Bang bang I'm dead." "No. You don't care. I don't care." "call me before I do this." "My Funeral (expletive)." "My hope was that we could find a note or something that would help explain what happened," "Nothing of evidentiary value was located in Jaylen's room." "the [act] of an individual, not a family, not a tribe" "We are supporting the family of Jaylen Fryberg in their time of loss, but that does not mean we condone his actions." "very comfortable and confident in the decisions and actions our personnel took at the scene (and) that those decisions and those actions were in the best interest of those patients — even after the light of scrutiny." "They already had permission on our radio system, but they’re expanding the number of talk groups that they have." "Even if we would have known that helicopter was there, we still would have gone to Providence. "When the wounded students were being loaded into ambulances, none of those (airlift) helicopters would have been overhead, none of the helicopters we were aware of," "We understand other teams in the league will be wearing red and white in support of Marysville-Pilchuck," Berg said. "I think he made an excellent decision under the circumstances he was dealing with." "Silence is violence." "Because he was their friend? Because they were family? "Why is this different?" "Why is he seen as a victim? Because of the life he lived? Because they were family? "Jaylen is not a victim. "It's about accountability. "I didn't consider Jay a victim," "I loved him while he was here, but his actions have changed everyone's lives. He destroyed all of our lives. "My son did forgive Jaylen, in the beginning," "But after he lost his friends, one after another, that forgiveness has gone from him, turned to anger." "I don't want to live in hate. I can't live in hate. "The way they are handling it, they are the ones building a wall," "And to stand with my family, I can't forgive that." "We cannot thank everyone enough for the outpouring of love and support," "If it's seen as OK, we are teaching our younger generation that this is OK. "I thank God that (Lee) was there to take him,"