Jalyen Fryberg killed five friends after inviting them to lunch in the cafeteria of their Washington state high school. Known as a popular student, according to his classmates and the Associated Press, Fryberg’s violence and suicide comes as a shock to the Washington community.After texting five friends to invite them to lunch, Fryberg pulled out a handgun in the cafeteria and started shooting. The victims were Zoe R. Galasso, 14, who died at the scene; Gia Soriano, 14, Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, who both died at a hospital, and Fryberg’s two cousins, Nate Hatch, 14, and Andrew Fryberg, 15 who survived but were seriously injured. What is shocking about Fryberg’s actions is his social standing among his classmates. He was the homecoming prince and had lots of friends at school, which is uncommon, since most violent shootings at schools are done by social outcasts, said BYUH student Jordan Petersen, a sophomore in business from Washington State. “It’s hard because it is very unexpected,” but there are so many different variables that can lead to these actions, said Petersen. Tony Farrenkopf, a forensic psychologist in Portland, Ore., has created psychological profiles of mass shooters and said, “School shooters often harbor anger and paranoid delusions, have low self-esteem and hang out with an outcast group.” According to the Huffington Post, many mass shootings are motivated by revenge or envy, that's why many take place at a school or a workplace where shooters felt rejected, but Fryberg did not exhibit these signs. Prince of the Homecoming Court, part of the football team, and a member of a prominent Tulalip Indian Tribes family, Fryber was not the usual social outcast. But there were signs he was not doing well, said Associated Press. According to friends, Fryberg seemed happy although he was upset about a girl. His Twitter feed was recently full of vague, anguished postings like, "It won't last ... It'll never last," and "I should have listened. ... You were right ... The whole time you were right," said AP.Detectives are digging through reams of text messages, phone and social media records as part of an investigation that could take months, Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said at a news conference.Fryberg breaks the stereotype for a school shooter which makes it more difficult to address solutions, said Scott Wilson, a senior in biology from Canada. It’s difficult to know what could have stopped Fryberg from becoming so violent and suicidal, but Stacey Wilson a senior studying music from Canada, believes Fryberg’s actions stem from high stress. Students don’t have good ways to relieve stress, said Wilson, “There needs to be different outlets for children to release stress and emotions.”While Wilson may be on the right track, the Fryberg family and the families of his victims are trying to heal. "The question everybody wants is, 'Why?'" Trenary said. "I don't know that the 'why' is something we can provide."
Writer: Trenton McCullough ~ Multimedia Journalist
