SEATTLE – The gun used by Marsyville-Pilchuck High School shooter Jaylen Fryberg to kill four classmates and himself last year was illegally purchased by his father, according to federal court documents.
Raymond Lee Fryberg, 42, appeared in federal court Tuesday afternoon on unlawful possession of firearms.
Raymond Fryberg was under a permanent protection order from Tulalip Tribal Court after Raymond’s then-girlfriend claimed in 2002 that he had threatened and assaulted her.
In 2012, Raymond pleaded no contest after being charged with violating the order and was sentenced to a year of probation.
As part of the protection order, Raymond was not allowed to purchase firearms. But the court documents reveal that he purchased five firearms from a Cabela’s store in Tulalip, Wash., between January 2013 and July 2014. When he purchased the guns, he falsely indicated on the purchasing agreement that he was not under a protection order.
Investigators at the Marysville-Pilchuck shooting on October 24, 2014, later identified the gun that Jaylen Fryberg used – a Baretta PX4 Storm – as the one of the guns Raymond Fryberg purchased.
Jaylen Fryberg, 15, shot and killed his cousin Andrew Fryberg, 15; Gia Soriano, 14; Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14; and Zoe Galasso, 14 inside the school cafeteria. Jaylen also wounded 14-year-old Nate Hatch before turning the gun on himself.
Statement from Marysville superintendent Dr. Becky Berg:
“We are saddened by this morning’s news. Our hearts go out to the victims’ families, our students, staff and community as we continue through the long process of recovery. This is part of an ongoing investigation and all questions related to this matter should be deferred to the FBI.”
Statement from Cabela’s:
“Cabela’s strictly complies with federal, state and local laws regulating the sale of firearms. Cabela’s records indicate the transaction was processed in compliance with applicable regulations, including background checks.”
Statement from Tulalip Tribes Chairman Herman Williams
“The Tulalip Police Department continues to coordinate with federal authorities. It is not our policy to comment on an active investigation and at this time we have no further information to share. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be focused on the victims, their families, and the healing of our communities impacted by the Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting.”
Governor Jay Inslee gives sobering statistics for Washington youth
Snohomish County Health District
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – At a press conference Thursday morning, Governor Jay Inslee released preliminary data from the 2014 Healthy Youth Survey in which 23 percent of Washington’s high school seniors reported using e-cigarettes. Furthermore, high school sophomores were vaping at twice the rate of regular cigarettes. This represents a significant increase in e-cigarette use since the 2012 survey.
“What we’re seeing is alarming,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer and director at the Snohomish Health District. “The companies marketing these products are zeroing in on youth with ads featuring celebrities and other social media campaigns telling them that vaping is cool and safe. These are dangerous messages to send to our kids.”
Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or vaping devices, represent a market that has grown exponentially since they were first introduced in mid-2000s. They are typically equipped with a battery, an atomizer, and a cartridge for liquid nicotine. There are more than 400 different brands of e-cigarettes and the liquid nicotine comes in more than 7,000 flavors, all of which can be purchased online. The devices can also be used with marijuana, heroin, and other drugs.
The devices are not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration, so manufacturers are not required to disclose product ingredients. In addition to the nicotine, vaping may expose users and by-standers to harmful toxins like lead and formaldehyde. It will take decades to fully understand long-term effects of e-cigarettes and exposure to vaporized nicotine and other drugs.
“Nicotine is nicotine, regardless if smoked or vaped. We can’t afford to let years go by before acting to protect teens from a lifetime of health problems,” said Goldbaum. “This is a drug that the U.S. Surgeon General has noted is just as addictive as cocaine and heroin. We need to do more to protect our children–it’s critical that our legislators do what is in their power to keep these harmful devices off limits to Washington’s youth.” A bill is currently under consideration during this legislative session. If approved, it would require retailers obtain licensing for the sale of vaping devices, prohibit internet sales, ensure child-safe packaging, and restrict marketing and sales activities targeted at youth. It would also impose a tax on vaping products that would be on par with other addictive substances like alcohol and tobacco. Taxing tobacco products has proven to be one of the most effective strategies to reduce the use of harmful and addicting substances, particularly among youth.
The final 2014 Healthy Youth Survey data and reports will be released by the Washington State Department of Health next month.
Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier community through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. To read more about the District and for important health information, visit www.snohd.org.
One of five students shot in a deadly rampage at a Washington state high school Friday is improving, but answers as to why freshman Jaylen Fryberg opened fire on two of his cousins and three girls were still elusive Saturday, as the town of Marysville struggled to heal.
Dozens of people attended a small vigil at a church Saturday, the second held in as many days since the 10:30 a.m. shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School that left a young girl dead and four wounded. Fryberg killed himself after being confronted by a teacher.
“Someone described what happened as a rip in our tapestry, our life in Marysville,” Pastor John Mason said during a prayer at Mountain View Presbyterian Church. “There are many threads left hanging. It will take time to weave the threads back together.”
Nick Brouchard, a student at a nearby school, Marysville-Gretchell High School, came to the vigil out of a feeling of powerlessness. “You never think it will happen to you or in your home,” he said. “I felt like I had to do something, because at first I couldn’t.”
Outside Marysville Pilchuck High School, well-wishers left balloons, flowers, stuffed animals and other tokens at a makeshift memorial on a chain-link fence. Some salvaged whatever bright spots they could.
“Our school and community, we’re all so much closer than we ever have been before,” said MPHS junior Madison White, 16. “It’s bringing everyone together.”
Nate Hatch, 14, regained consciousness overnight but couldn’t speak because he is intubated, his family said. Harborview Medical Center said he was in intensive care and was improving Saturday. Andrew Fryberg, 15, remained in critical condition at the hospital.
Two teenage girls, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit and Gia Soriano, both 14, were shot in the head and hospital officials said Saturday that “the next three days are going to be crucial.” The name of the girl that was killed has not been released.
Police did not release a motive in the rampage, although students said Fryberg had recently been in a fight and law enforcement sources believe he may have been upset over a girl. Among the students in Marysville, there were plenty of rumors but no answers.
A student who witnessed the shooting told NBC News that Jaylen himself seemed surprised at the damage he’d wrought.
“I looked up and Jaylen, he was looking at us, but he didn’t look like him. He looked like different person” Alex Hatch, a distant cousin and friend of Jaylen’s, said. “He had a look on his face like he was just realizing what he did.”
The Cherokee Nation has responded to an offensive banner displayed at an Alabama high school football game that has drawn national attention. The banner, made by McAdory High School students for a football playoff game, referenced the opposing team’s mascot, the “Indians,” by displaying the message: “Hey Indians, get ready to leave in a Trail of Tears, Round 2.”
In the 1830s, the Cherokee Nation and many other tribes were forcibly removed from their homelands in Alabama and other states in the Southeast, and marched hundreds of miles to Indian Territory, now present-day Oklahoma. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker issued the following statement.
“Ironically, the Cherokee Nation is commemorating the 175th anniversary of the start of our Trail of Tears this year. About 16,000 Cherokees began the trek to Oklahoma from our homelands in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky, but only 12,000 lived through the harsh conditions that winter.
“ The Trail of Tears was arguably the most horrific period in the Cherokee Nation’s history and among the worst atrocities ever sanctioned by the United States government. The legacy of that terrible era has had a profound effect on generations of tribal citizens, and still lingers today. This unfortunate display shows how much improvement is still needed in the understanding of Native peoples, our triumphs and our challenges, both historical and modern.
“We hope this becomes an opportunity for administrators at McAdory High School, and at schools all across the United States, to teach our young people not only the terrible history behind the Indian removal era, but also the resilience of tribes across the nation.”
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald Marysville-Pilchuck wide receiver Chris Jones catches a long touchdown pass in front of Glacier Peak’s Austin Hines during Friday night’s game.
Source: The Herald
Championship week in high school football did not disappoint, with close games deciding Wesco 4A and the Cascade Conference, and Marysville Pilchuck steamrolling their way into the state playoffs. See Herald photos from MP’s and Lakewood’s victories in our photo gallery and catch up on all the action in our stories below:
Mark Mulligan / The Herald Vanessa Miller, 22, questions instructor Jennifer Jennings during her GED class Thursday at Everett Community College.
Erc Stevick, The Herald
EVERETT — It feels like a high-stakes game of Chutes and Ladders for thousands of people trying to improve their lives by earning a GED.
Their academic climb could slide into nothingness at the end of the year.
The five-subject national exam is getting an overhaul Jan. 1.
That gives less than six months for those hoping to pass the old version.
If they don’t pass each and every subject between now and then, they must start from scratch with a new set of exams that are expected to be harder.
There is urgency but not panic these days on the second floor of Everett Community College’s Baker Hall, where two rooms of mainly 20-somethings are trying to make up for lost time and missed opportunity.
One morning last week, EvCC instructor Jennifer Jennings led her students through a multi-step math problem that involved credit cards, percentages and interest rates. For most of the students, math is their biggest obstacle between now and the new year deadline.
Jennings remembers the last time the GED was changed in 2001 and the long lines at the college’s testing center.
“It was crazy,” she said.
The General Education Development certificate was started in 1942 to allow returning World War II GIs to continue their education when they came home. It was designed to show that they had earned basic academic skills many consider the equivalent of a high school diploma. People not in the military were able to start taking the GED in 1947.
Roughly 20 million people have earned GEDs over the years.
With the change in exams approaching, test preparation programs, such as ones at Everett Community College, are bracing for heavy enrollment through the fall.
Lanora Toth, 21, attended five high schools, but didn’t graduate. Life has been a struggle for the young mother who said she once held a cardboard sign at a street corner. It read, “Cold, homeless and hungry.”
Her goal in pursuing her GED is simple: to provide a better home and set an example for her young child.
Classmate Vanessa Miller nodded as Toth spoke.
“I want to give my 1-year-old the life I never had,” she said.
Skyy Sepulveda dropped out of Mountlake Terrace High School in her junior year when she fell hopelessly behind on credits. She took a GED class a year ago and didn’t finish. It stung a bit to see her classmates earn their certificates and that has motivated her this time around.
She said she is studying more than ever.
“It’s really nerve-wracking to get everything done,” she said.
Since 2009, more than 3,900 people have gone through EvCC’s GED programs and taken all or portions of the exam. More than 2,900 have passed.
Over the last four years alone, that leaves 1,016 others who must reach the finish line between now and Jan. 1 or start anew. Nationwide, there are about 1 million people whose scores could expire Jan. 1 under the new testing program.
“We want people to know that these changes are really happening and they are happening soon and to get all their ducks in a row,” said Katie Jensen, EvCC’s dean of basic and developmental education.
College officials are reaching out through fliers, letters, word of mouth and mention on the reader board at the college’s Broadway entrance.
These days, GED testing is done by appointment and Jensen warns that prospective exam takers should not procrastinate getting ready.
“I think our testing times are going to fill up,” she said.
Instead of five sections, the new GED test will be reconfigured into four: reasoning through language arts, mathematical reasoning, science and social studies. The existing stand-alone essay section will be folded into writing assessments within the language arts and social studies sections, It also will all be done on the computer.
Jessica Cleveland, 25, is a mother of three who quit school after the eighth grade. She hopes she never has to see the new GED exams.
“It scares me,” she said. “I want to be done by then.”
Cleveland has worked in coffee stands and at a pizza restaurant, but believes she needs a GED to get a foot in the door for better-paying opportunities.
“I want an education so my kids have a good role model to look up to, so they don’t drop out of high school and can see where I went wrong,” she said.
Devona Fields, 31, is married and has three children.
As they get older, she hopes to find a job to help with family expenses and figures a GED could be a big help.
Fields has passed two of the five GED exams.
Her husband, Wilson Fields, recently earned his GED and is taking pre-college math to prepare for college courses.
Wilson Fields tries to encourage Devona with each subject she passes.
Devona resists patting herself on the back.
She still must get through the math test, which gives her anxiety.
“I will cheer and celebrate when I have all the scores back,” she said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; heraldnet.com.
About the GED
To learn more about GED preparation help at Everett Community College, call 425-388-9291 or email www.everettcc.edu/ged.
For opportunities at Edmonds Community College, call 425-670-1593 or email devediv@edcc.edu.
