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Shooting At Washington School Leaves 2 Dead, Including Gunman

People react as they wait at a church on Friday where students were taken to be reunited with parents following a shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Wash.
Ted S. Warren
/
AP
People react as they wait at a church on Friday where students were taken to be reunited with parents following a shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Wash.

A student entered the cafeteria of a Marysville, Wash., high school and opened fire, killing one and injuring four before turning the gun on himself, police said Friday.

Television images showed students running out of Marysville-Pilchuck High School with their hands up, while police moved room to room with guns drawn.

During televised press conferences, Marysville Police Commander Robb Lamoureux said the shooter was a student of the school and that he did not know whether the second person killed was a student or a teacher.

Providence Hospital in Everett, Wash., said it had received four "young people" at its hospital; three of them are in critical condition.

Update at 6 a.m. Saturday

Authorities confirmed that the second person killed was a female student, and the other shooting victims are all under 18. Three were in critical condition at Providence Hospital; the fourth suffered less serious injuries, Reuters reports.

"He came up from behind and had a gun in his hand and he fired about eight bullets...They were his friends so it wasn't just random," student Jordan Luton told CNN.

The Seattle Times spoke to a few people at the school:

" 'I never thought I would be standing here after a school shooting,' said Heather Parker, whose son, Corbin, is a senior. 'He's pretty shook up. He just said, "I'm OK." He was trying to calm me down.'

"Adam Holston, 14, a freshman, was just leaving the lunchroom when the gunfire broke out. 'Everyone just started running. I could hear the gunshots and my heart was racing and we didn't know what was going on.'

"Some ran out to the parking lot, some to the field.

" 'Someone opened a door and we all ran into classrooms and just stayed there.' "

This is a breaking news story. We'll update once we know more.

Update at 8:21 p.m. ET. 'Time For Us To Act':

During a press conference, Marysville Police Chief Rick Smith said that because this kind of event has happened yet again, it's time for the U.S. to take a look at what's going on with our communities.

"It's time for us to act and not talk any more," Smith said.

Police Commander Robb Lamoureux said that all the victims in today's shooting were younger than 18.

Update at 5:49 p.m. ET. One Of The Victims Is 15:

Updating reporters, Joanne Roberts, chief medical officer at Providence Hospital in Everett, Wash., said one of the victims brought into the hospital was a 15-year-old boy, who is now out of surgery and will be airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.

All three of Providence's patients, she said, are still "very critically" ill with "very, very serious wounds."

Roberts said they are still trying to identify the other two victims at the hospital.

We've not heard word on the condition of the fourth victim, who was transferred from Providence Hospital to Harborview earlier today.

Update at 4:32 p.m. ET. Gunshot Wounds:

During a press briefing, Joanne Roberts, chief medical officer at Providence Hospital in Everett, Wash., said three young people taken to the hospital had suffered gunshot wounds to the head.

All three — two young women and one young man — are in critical condition. Another young man, she said, was transferred to another hospital because he sustained a gunshot wound to the jaw and was in good enough condition for the transfer.

Update at 3:52 p.m. ET. At Least 4 Injured:

During a televised press conference, Joanne Roberts, chief medical officer at Providence Hospital in Everett, Wash., said her facility received four patients.

She said the patients were young, but she did not know if they were students.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.