Marysville teacher releases statement on shooting

MARYSVILLE — A teacher who tried to intervene to stop a school shooting in Washington state last week says she reacted just as any of her colleagues would have.

Officials have said Marysville-Pilchuck High School teacher Megan Silberberger ran toward Jaylen Fryberg after he opened fire in the school’s cafeteria Friday. She did not have any physical contact with the shooter.

Fryberg fatally shot two students and gravely wounded three others before killing himself.

Silberberger issued a statement through the Washington Education Association on Wednesday. She did not offer any details of her actions.

“I reacted exactly like all my colleagues would in this type of event,” she said. “I am a schoolteacher, and like all teachers, I am committed to the safety and well-being of my students. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this incident.”

She also asked for privacy and said she would not be issuing further comments.

Classes resume Monday at Marysville-Pilchuck High School for 1,200 students and their teachers and administrators who have been planning for a new routine after last Friday’s shooting.

Superintendent Becky Berg spoke to parents Tuesday night at the high school about the reopening plans, The Daily Herald of Everett reported. The district will not reopen the cafeteria where the shooting took place, she said.

Three students remain in hospitals, two in critical condition.

The Tulalip Indian tribes, of which Fryberg was a member, released a statement Wednesday denouncing his “horrific actions” and saying they were the “acts of an individual, not a family, not a tribe”

The statement said the Tulalips would continue to work with the community in the healing process.