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Jaylen Fryberg is the 14-year-old freshman who opened fire on October 24 in the cafeteria at Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Washington. He shot five people, who were all friends of his, before fatally shooting himself. Police said that three people involved in the shooting are dead, including Fryberg. The girl killed by Fryberg at the scene was named Zoe Galasso.
Later, another victim, 14-year-old Gia Soriano, died of her injuries in hospital.
This was his final tweet, sent a day before the shooting:
It won’t last…. It’ll never last….
Here’s what you need to know:
1. He Just Broke Up With His Girlfriend
A student who identified himself as a friend of the gunman told Fox News in a televised interview today that Jaylen Fryberg recently “went through a breakup.” He had been dating the same girl since seventh grade, and his social media profiles include many pictures of them together and loving messages to her.
The girl featured in many of his pictures posted a video recently to Facebook showing Fryberg asking her to Homecoming.
Students told CNN that he was named freshman homecoming king at that dance on October 17. You can see a video of Fryberg at the homecoming celebrations:
Two weeks later, she said referenced the break-up, saying that everything happened and that people came and went in her life “for a reason.”
Reports also say that Fryberg recently got into a fight at football practice and was suspended from the team, but students described him as “a quiet kid”. It is reported that a racial statement of some kind may have been made during this altercation with NBC News reporting a student, Bryce Vitcovitch, saying that Fryberg had “an incident the other day when a kid was being somewhat racist, and he punched him.”
KIRO reports that Fryberg had been bullied and was “sick of it.”
A little over a month ago, Fryberg tweeted about disputes over his girlfriend. On September 19 he said on social media, “Dude. She tells me everything. And now I f*cking HATE you! Your no longer my “Brother”!” That was preceded by this tweet:
Did you forget she was my girlfriend?😂😂😤
He previously tweeted angry and despondent statements, sometimes directed at those he had disagreements with:
Your gonna piss me off… And then some shits gonna go down and I don’t think you’ll like it…😤😤😤
Your not gonna like what happens next‼️😤
Fuck It‼️😖😤😖😖😖 Might As well Die Now😖😤😤😤😖😖💔💔
2. His Parents Bought Him a Gun for His Birthday
According to his Instagram, Fryberg’s parents gave him a gun for his birthday three months ago. It was not the gun used in the attack — that was a handgun and not a rifle.
Many posts on his social media profiles reference his love of hunting, including many images of hunting such as the one above. Friends confirm in interviews that he was a hunter and had firearms experience.
3. He Shot 2 of His Cousins, Because One of the Them Was Dating His Crush
(Screengrab via KING5)
According to student witnesses, he walked up to a specific table in the cafeteria before opening fire. Jordan Luton told CNN, “They were his friends, so it wasn’t just random.” The horrific shooting began just after 10 a.m. After attacking the students, Fryberg turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. Police later said that Fryberg texted some of the victims so that they would meet him at lunch.
In the aftermath of the attack, it emerged that Fryberg had a crush on Zoe Galasso. That crush seemed unrequited as she was dating Fryberg’s cousin, Andrew. A student, Jarron Webb, told the Seattle Times on the day of the tragedy, that Fryberg was “angry at a girl who would not date him.” Zoe Galasso, his crush, was one of those killed by Fryberg. His cousin and Zoe’s boyfriend, Andrew, was also wounded.
Another student told KOMO reporter Lindsay Cohen that Fryberg was “like normal” a day before the attack.
Most of the wounded were airlifted to Providence Regional Hospital, according to that facility they treated three patients who were all brought in in critical condition. Dr. Joanna Roberts of Providence said all of their patients “have very, very serious wounds.”
The male victims were Andrew Fryberg and Nate Hatch. Both are Fryberg’s cousins. Another female victim, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, is still in critical condition.
Just talked to aunt of Andrew Fryberg. Says he was just airlifted to Harborview. @KIRO7Seattle http://t.co/0eGRt8eOpl
4. He Was a Football Player & Wrestler
Fryberg played on the school’s freshman football and wrestling teams. The video below shows him in action as a youth wrestler.
Friends described him as being very involved in athletics, and he posted regularly on social media about sports, including posting many videos of his friends playing basketball on Vine. One of his coaches told KIRO’s Amy Clancy that Fryberg was “hard-working and smart” and that he was a “good kid from a good family.”
5. He Was a Member of the Tulalip Tribes
Fryberg was a member of the Native American Tulalip Tribes and lived in Tulalip Bay, Washington, about six miles from Marysville.
A prominent elder named Ray Fryberg is the tribes’ director of fish and wildlife. He was the subject of this 2012 feature:
Fryberg posted an Instagram last January comparing the number of Americans killed on 9/11 with the “12 million Native Americans killed by Christians.”
https://instagram.com/p/jhtJ05yFNZ