MARYSVILLE – A lawsuit against the Marysville School District following the deaths of five students in the Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting in 2014 could depend largely on comments made by a substitute teacher.
“It will be interesting to see how that plays out,” said Pat Buchanan, attorney for the district.
The Marysville School Board met this week to pass a resolution to reimburse substitute teacher Rosemary Cooper forfinancial losses she could incur as a result of a lawsuit. It is required by law to do so, Buchanan said. The families ofthe victims in the M-P shooting have filed the lawsuit against the district, Cooper and Raymond Fryberg, the father ofthe shooter.
Snohomish County Superior Court papers say the defendants were negligent in failing to prevent the shooting thatoccurred Oct. 24, 2014. The papers say the district had heard about the impending shooting the day before, when astudent told Cooper, who was substituting in a literature class.
According to the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team Report:
•It was the final class of the day, and the kids were unruly. Many of the kids surrounded a student who was on hiscell phone. The students were laughing and cheering. A student approached Cooper and apologized for the class.Cooper was told they were acting up because there was a tweet going around indicating there was going to be ashooting Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. in the cafeteria. Cooper left a note for the teacher and told the “attendance lady’ aboutthe tweet. Cooper was informed the school was aware and not to worry about it.
Buchanan said Cooper later changed her story, saying she was mistaken. Buchanan said police talked to the studentand the woman at the office, who did not support the Cooper’s original statement. Investigators also went through”every scrap of garbage” at the school and could not find the note left for the teacher. “Our heart goes out toRosemary. She’s been through a lot. Everybody’s been impacted,” Buchanan said.
Mike Riley of Seattle, Cooper’s attorney, declined comment since it is pending litigation.
As for the lawsuit itself, it continues to say that district staff failed to take reasonable steps to provide for the safetyof students. The district said Cooper never reported anything. The lawsuit also says by failing to monitor shooterJaylen Fryberg, the district and father Raymond also are liable.
The suit was filed March 31 by Connelly Law Offices in Tacoma. The plaintiffs are: Michelle Galasso (Zoe), LavinaPhillips (Shaylee Chuckulnaskit), Brian Soriano (Gia), Susan Soriano and Lahneen Fryberg (Andrew) Denise Hatch-Anderson and Nathaniel Hatch, the only victim to survive the shooting.
Statement of facts
The lawsuit goes on to say:
Jaylen, 15, shot five students, killing four, before killing himself. Minutes prior, he reportedly sent a group text message to his family and the families of his would-be victims. He apologized for his actions, explained his motives and laid out plans for his funeral.
At lunch he invited the students to sit at a table. Eyewitnesses said he stood up and had a verbal altercation with them. He pulled out a .40-caliber Beretta handgun and fired at least eight shots, shooting several students in a “calm, methodical way.” Witnesses said Jaylen had “a blank stare” and was “staring at the victims as he shot them.” Seven students were at the table.
First-year social studies teacher Megan Silberberger tried to apprehend Jaylen as he may have been attempting to reload. An eyewitness said that inadvertently caused Jaylen to shoot himself in the neck.
A school resource officer said to dispatch: “We have a shooter. We have five down. Shooter is DOA (dead on arrival). We have got apparently four (victims).
Soon after he said: “I need aid here. I have two that are still breathing and alive. Looks like I have three possibly deceased.”
Paramedics arrived 10 minutes after the first radio dispatch.
At the time, about 150 people were in the cafeteria. The vice principal ordered the school to lock down. Some students fled immediately. Several climbed a fence and sought shelter at a house next door. Students were taken by bus to a nearby church. It took two hours for officers to evacuate hundreds of students who were hiding in the school.
A student told a detective that Jaylen posted on his Twitter and Instagram page: “Tell my mom I love her, and there’s like an emoji of a gun.”
Police said after the shooting “several of his family members began trying…to ‘scrub’ or delete what Jaylen had posted.”
Earlier that day, Jaylen put his head on his desk for most of his marketing class, but his teacher said that was normal for him. In a later language arts class, a teacher said Jaylen had his head down and was using his cell phone. When the teacher called him on it, Jaylen responded, “It doesn’t matter.”
Jaylen also sent a text to his father, saying, “Read the paper on my bed. Dad, I love you.”
Documents say Jaylen had an argument with his cousin, Andrew, the previous day.
Zoe died at the scene, while Shaylee and Gia were taken to Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett in critical condition. Gia died Oct. 26 and Shaylee Oct. 31. Andrew was shot twice and died Nov. 7. Nate, another cousin, was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He was discharged from the hospital Nov. 6.
On March 31, 2015, Raymond Fryberg was arrested for purchasing five handguns, including the Baretta used in the shooting. He reportedly lied when making the purchases because there was a 2002 order banning him from possessing firearms. He was imprisoned after being found guilty. Police records say Fryberg may have stored the weapon unsecured in his vehicle.
School board resolution
State law requires the district to indemnify Cooper. The district is obliged to pay if a jury rules in favor of the plaintiffs, provided Cooper acted in good faith. There is also a condition that she not admit liability in the lawsuit.
