Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Four shot at school; student dies
Washington suspect arrested; he’s classmate, says bystander
ROCKFORD, Wash. — A shooter opened fire at a high school in a tiny town in Washington state Wednesday, killing a student, injuring three others and sending worried parents to the school in a frenzied rush, authorities said.
Brian Schaeffer of the Spokane Fire Department told reporters that a child died at Freeman High School in Rockford, south of Spokane, while three injured victims were taken to a hospital and were expected to survive.
“The shooter has been apprehended and is taken into custody,” he said.
Michael Harper, 15, a sophomore at the school, said the suspect was a classmate who had long been obsessed with past school shootings.
Harper said some students had alerted counselors after the suspect had previously taken notes to Freeman High saying he might be killed or jailed.
The shooter entered the school Wednesday carrying a duffel bag, Harper said. After shots were fired, students went running and screaming down the hallways, the teen said.
Harper said the shooter had many friends and wasn’t bullied, calling him “nice and funny and weird.”
Schaeffer, who didn’t release any information about a possible motive or the age of the suspect, said the shooting was especially hard for first responders, many of whom have children at the school.
A two-lane road into the community of about 500 people near the Idaho border was clogged with vehicles. Some people abandoned their cars on the street to make it to their children.
Cheryl Moser said her son, a freshman at Freeman High School, called her from a classroom after hearing shots fired.
“He called me and said, ‘Mom, there are gunshots.’ He sounded so scared. I’ve never heard him like that,” Moser told The Spokesman-Review newspaper. “You never think about something happening like this at a small school.”
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital received three pediatric patients, spokesman Nicole Stewart said. They were in stable condition and were surrounded by family, she said.
Authorities didn’t immediately release the ages of the victims.
Stephanie Lutje said she was relieved to hear her son was safe after his high school near Freeman was put on lockdown. She commended the school district for its communication.
“It’s been amazing, within probably 15-20 minutes of hearing about it, I’d already received a phone call, I’d already received a text message saying that their school is OK,” she said.
She still worried for others she knew, including a co-worker who had yet to hear from her son, a sophomore at Freeman.
“My stomach’s in knots right now,” she said.
Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement that “all Washingtonians are thinking of the victims and their families, and are grateful for the service of school staff and first responders working to keep our students safe.”