EDITOR’S NOTE — For the latest developments in this story, and more photos, go to www.heraldnet.com, the website of The Herald newspaper in Everett/Snohomish County, a sister publication to the Peninsula Daily News.
Marysville is about 35 miles north of Seattle.
SEE RELATED STORY, today: “Fence near Marysville Pilchuck High School lined with memorials” — https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20141102/NEWS/141109997
MARYSVILLE — It is a hurt that has spread from town to city to reservation, the hurt of senseless violence and the loss of young lives.
On Monday, survivors of mass shootings in other communities came to Marysville to bring words and gifts of togetherness, unity and hope.
They brought songs and dances. Construction paper hearts. A Native American dreamcatcher.
They brought love.
A ceremony Monday evening followed a joyous return for 1,200 Marysville Pilchuck High School students, back for their first day in class after the Oct. 24 shooting.
A long line of supporters, many carrying candles and umbrellas, cheered as buses and cars arrived Monday morning. The buses were mostly empty, with parents opting to drop their students off in person.
At noon, students walked in clusters of red and white onto the high school track, some breaking into grins and others into tears as the crowd of alumni they hadn’t known was there began to chant.
“MP strong! MP strong! MP strong!”
Students aimed their cellphones to snag photos or video. Others shouted, jumped, sprinted or skipped, some linking arms or clasping hands. Most walked by with a brief wave or a cautious smile toward the several hundred people cheering from the stands.
As students arrived at the field, each pressed a red plastic cup into the chain-link fence at one end, gradually spelling out the words “MP strong.”
School started three hours late on Monday for a day that consisted of assemblies and small group activities meant to help students cope with emotions and fears sparked by the violence.
While students attended events in the morning, alumni rallied in the stands at the school’s Quil Ceda Stadium. Decked out in the school colors of red and white, people brought food, flowers and therapy dogs.
After every student had walked by the roaring crowd, alumni followed them into a gym draped with balloons, prayer flags and banners.
Thousands of students from other schools had signed the decorations with messages of compassion and support. People around the state also wore red and white Monday after a request made by Gov. Jay Inslee last week.
For the last part of their day, students broke off to go to whatever classrooms they wanted and met with teachers and friends. The counseling office also was open, complete with a giant, huggable teddy bear that had been donated to the school.
Students didn’t have to attend all of their classes but they were encouraged to visit each of their classrooms and walk the entire campus, Co-Principal Rob Lowry later told reporters.
Friends Amanda Pawlak and Katie Mattison came to the school together Monday morning to cheer on the students. The most important thing is for the teens to know they are not alone, they said.
“I just hope they can feel all the support and know they have a community, a state and really a whole country here to support them,” Mattison said. “They don’t need to be scared coming back to school. People are there for them.”
Police officers and grief counselors will have an increased presence on campus for the next few weeks, according to the school district.
This city of 60,000 continues to mourn the loss of young lives. The death toll from the shooting climbed to four on Friday, when Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, died from her injuries.
Up to 90 percent of the students returned Monday, but healing will come in “baby steps,” district superintendent Becky Berg said.
“We still have children in the hospital,” she said. “We still have families in inconceivable grief. We still have a lot to go through as a community.”
The Tulalip Tribes is focusing on all of the families who are hurting, said Deborah Parker, a member of the tribes’ board of directors and mother of a Marysville Pilchuck senior.
“When we hold hands, when we lock arms, we truly become one,” she said.
Monday evening brought a ceremony at school district headquarters with guests from Sandy Hook and the Red Lake Nation reservation of Minnesota. Both communities also have survived mass shootings in schools.
That particular hurt has been passed from community to community across the country, said Stephanie Smith, a Rotary member from Minnesota.
“We’re sorry that we are connected because of grief but we can be united in hope,” she said.
The hurt has been followed by gifts, too, of sticks and leather and construction paper and glitter, made with love, said Susan Connelly, a school counselor from Newtown, Connecticut. A dreamcatcher was among the items given to Marysville on Monday night.
Connelly saw the red and white ribbons wrapped around the trees and power poles as she drove into Marysville. They reminded her of the green ribbons that still hang in Newtown, she said.
The ribbons remind people there are angels everywhere, and people who care, she said.
On Monday night, the dreamcatcher and other gifts from Red Lake and Sandy Hook were brought to Marysville with hope that there won’t be a need to carry them to another community hurting just as bad for a similar reason, Connelly said.
Bells clanged as the children from Red Lake walked and danced, singing American Indian healing songs. The Oakgrove family from Red Lake drove two days to be here, they said.
Amid the songs, John Oakgrove, the father, encouraged everyone in the room to make a circle and to join in the dance. Circles bring people together, and closeness is healing, he said. People can’t fight each other when they are holding hands. Joy is important, too.
His sons looked up at him as they drummed and sang together.
Courtny Oakgrove, 11, jumped and twirled, the rainbow of the fringe of her dress following every movement.
Berg, Mayor Jon Nehring and Police Chief Rick Smith joined in the dancing. The Oakgrove children couldn’t contain their glee.
It’s OK, their father told them. Someday you will be grownups, too.
Amid all the talk of healing, there still was the hurt.
All of the victims’ families have asked for privacy. An obituary running in The Herald this week shared more about the life of Gia Christine Soriano, also 14.
Gia was described as thoughtful and friendly, a soft-spoken girl with a warm confidence.
“Gia was a gentle, loving young woman who loved children and animals of all kinds,” the obituary says. “She had a dream of being a veterinarian someday.”
Gia was the daughter of Susan and Bryan Soriano, and an older sister to Anthony, 10. Her memorial service has not yet been scheduled.
Plans for Shaylee’s funeral are moving ahead on the reservation, where she made her home. In a statement issued Friday, her family described her as a radiant light who brought them “incredible joy and happiness.”
“We can’t imagine life without her,” they said.
Also killed in the shooting was 14-year-old Zoe Raine Galasso. Her memorial was Saturday.
Andrew Fryberg, 15, remained in critical condition in intensive care Monday at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said. He was shot in the head.
Nate Hatch, 14, continues to improve after being shot in the jaw. He was in satisfactory condition at Harborview on Monday.
The shooter, Jaylen Fryberg, 15, killed himself at the scene. His funeral was held last week on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
On Tuesday, Marysville Pilchuck is expected to return to the former schedule, with an extended lunch.
The school is working with the PTA on short-term and long-term plans to help students, Lowry said, including plans to have more mothers around campus. They are listening to the experts, but also to the kids, who have made it clear they do not want to return to the main cafeteria where the shooting occurred. It will remain closed indefinitely.
Monday was a day of tears and smiles, Lowry said.
Tuesday will be a new test, as will be each day to follow.
How you can help
Heritage Bank and the Marysville Rotary Club have set up a bank account to support the victims’ families. Donations can be brought to the bank at 1031 State Ave., Marysville. More info: 360-657-3100.
Donations may also be sent in care of the Marysville Rotary Education Foundation at P.O. Box 1875, Marysville, WA 98270.
The Tulalip Tribes also are collecting donations for victims and their families. Donations can be mailed to the Tulalip Foundation, Attn: MPHS Relief Fund, 8825 34th Ave. NE L-242, Tulalip, WA 98271. Donations can also be made online at www.tulalipfoundation.org/Giving#donation.
Families and friends of victims have set up individual Internet accounts to accept donations for expenses. Marysville police ask donors to carefully research such accounts to make sure they are legitimate before donating. Specific funds for victims:
Shaylee Chuckulnaskit: www.gofundme.com/shayleeadellechuck
Andrew Fryberg: www.gofundme.com/gakcno
Zoe Raine Galasso: www.gofundme.com/ga9oao
Nate Hatch: www.gofundme.com/gbkdg4
Gia Soriano: www.gofundme.com/giasoriano
Please note that gofundme.com and other online fundraising accounts generally take a cut from the donations. Gofundme’s website says it takes nearly 8 percent of the money donated.
Harborview Medical Center in Seattle is accepting messages for victims Nate Hatch and Andrew Fryberg online at ow.ly/DtLml. Victim Support Services has resources for those who need help, including crisis counselors: 425-252-6081 and 24/7 Hotline: 800-346-7555.
