Two dead, including gunman, at US school shooting

MARYSVILLE, Washington — A gunman opened fire on a Washington state school Friday, killing another student before turning the gun on himself, according to police.

Marysville Police Commander Robb Lamoureux said that police are confident there was only one shooter, but were continuing to search Marysville Pilchuck High School, about 30 miles north of Seattle.

A hospital spokeswoman said that three additional victims were in critical condition, but it was not immediately clear if the person who died was one of those brought to Providence Everett medical center.

The gunman injured as many as six people before killing himself, the Seattle Times reported earlier, citing law enforcement sources.

Students and staff members were seen walking out of Marysville Pilchuck High School after police and ambulance crews surrounded the large campus of more than 2,000 students.

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“It is an active scene,” Lamoureux said. “We do ask parents to please stay away.”

A crowd of parents waited in the parking lot outside a nearby church where they were being reunited with their children.

Buses pulled up periodically to drop off students evacuated from the school, with some running to hug their mothers or fathers. Some parents were sent back to their cars to get their identifications before they could leave with their children.

The shooting occurred in the school cafeteria, according to multiple reports.

“I was eating… I hear four gunshots and it was behind me. I saw a gun pointed at a table… then I ran out of the exit,” one student in the cafeteria, named only as Alex, told KIRO TV news.

Local television stations said two people were airlifted to a hospital.

Ayn Dietrich, an FBI spokesperson in Seattle, said the agency had personnel on their way to the scene to help authorities with the investigation.

The latest school shooting in the region happened at Seattle Pacific University, where a gunman killed one student and wounded two others on June 5.