In Marysville, Washington on Friday, 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg shot five of his fellow students and then commited suicide. Fryberg shot the victims with a handgun that had been legally purchased by a relative of his and it remains unclear as to how he got a hold of it. He sent a text to the five students (two of which were his cousins, who remain in critical condition) inviting them to lunch in the cafeteria, and then he pulled the handgun out, killing two of the five. Detectives are searching through texts he exchanged with those students and any other students he may have contacted. Fryberg was a popular student, and his friends say there wasn't anything very suspicious going on other than some troubles he was having with a girl, but it is being further investigated as to what his motive was.
It's so scary to me how a seemingly normal kid could suddenly turn into a killer. Another piece of information that I heard (regarding this article) on NPR news is that authorities aren't so much aknowledging the killer in this situation as much as they are the heroes of the incident: teachers that thought quickly and potentially saved lives. They are doing this so that there isn't much of a chance of "copy-cats", or people who imitate the crime of a past criminal almost as a way of praising them. I think that is a great stradegy and think it could really work. I also hope that the hospitalized victims make full recoveries, and that detectives are able to find out more information about the incident.
Link: http://news.yahoo.com/girl-wounded-washington-school-shooting-dies-080307106.html
This is so sad and scary because it just shows that it can happen anywhere to anyone and we all just have to be really careful.
ReplyDeleteInviting his friends to their death, how scary. I find it hard to imagine anyone our age capable of that.
ReplyDeleteThat's so scary that he simply texted them. I hope they discover his motive and that those that were hospitalized recover from their injuries.
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