EVERETT, Wash.—A second student shot in Friday’s shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck died Sunday night at Providence Regional Medical Center. Gia Soriano,14, died after being in critical condition.
“We are devastated by this senseless tragedy. Gia is our beautiful daughter and words cannot express how much we will miss her. We’ve made the decision to donate Gia’s organs so that others may benefit. Our daughter was loving, kind and this gift honors her life,” according to the Soriano’s family statement, which was read by Dr. Joanne Roberts, chief medical officer for the hospital, reports the Seattle Times.
The other student killed in the school on Friday was identified as Zoe Galasso, 14, by a family friend.
The details of what exactly happened remain unclear. Freshman Jaylen Fryberg, who was a football player and homecoming prince, shot five students in the school cafeteria Friday. Then, first-year teacher Megan Silberberger intervened, reports KIROTV.
“She’s the one that intercepted him with the gun. He tried either reloading or tried aiming at her. She tried moving his hand away and he tried shooting and shot himself in the neck,” a student told the TV station. The gunman died of his injuries.
The shooting might have been prompted when Galasso romantically rejected Fryberg and then began dating his cousin, Andrew Fryberg, reports the New York Daily News. Andrew Fryberg was also shot during the attack.
For 14 years, Snohomish County has been preparing for a school shooting. One month after the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, they became one of the first police departments to adopt changes on how to deal with a shooter situation inside a high school, according to a KING 5 report.
Schools in Washington state are required by law to have to have maps, room photographs and a crisis plan in place. The information is managed by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
MPHS will be closed for the rest of the week, but other schools in the area will remain open with extra security, reports KOMO.
Photo: Facebook
