‘Calm the violence’: Everett students’ nerves frayed after recent area shootings

EVERETT, Wash. – An early morning shooting forced a lockdown at Everett High School while police searched for a gunman they said shot a man off campus.

The shooting happened around 7 a.m. At the same time, hundreds of kids were already on their way to school.

All of this happened just days after the mass shooting at Cascade Mall in Skagit County.



Some students told Q13 News how they are dealing with the threat of gun violence.

Officials said no students were involved in the shooting and that the crime happened off campus.

Police swarmed the area near Colby Avenue and 23rd Street after reports of a man being shot by a woman.

“She brings the gun up and says, 'Get away from me,'" said witness Brett Stovall. “So then he didn’t listen, he kept on going, so she shot him and took off down the street.”

The shooting happened about a block away from Everett High School and it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

The first school bell rings around 7:30, the shooting happened only 30 minutes before. At that time of day, hundreds of kids were walking or being bused to campus. As a  precaution, the campus was locked down and kids on buses were taken to nearby Memorial Stadium.

“We don’t believe at this point in time that there is any threat or safety issues for the students themselves,” said Aaron Snell with the Everett Police Department.

“What if something happened to the school; you know the students,” said high school senior Jose Juarez.

Juarez said teachers rushed him and his friends into the building once they got to campus.

When he learned why, Juarez said he immediately thought about the recent mass shooting at a house party in Mount Vernon.

“I was like, already?” he said. “It was like OK, that’s too soon.”

District officials said they routinely practice lockdown drills for situations just like the incident on Wednesday morning.

A search by Everett Police for the shooter came up empty-handed. The lockdown at Everett High School lasted about an hour and students were then sent to class.

Juarez said his nerves are still frayed after last Friday night's shooting at Cascade Mall in Burlington.

“Calm the violence,” he said. “You can’t just keep doing that after that happened, you know.”

School officials said Wednesday’s lockdown happened just as it was supposed to; kids train three times each year for similar situations.

Police are still on the hunt for the shooting suspect; the victim is expected to survive.