School shooting in Washington state leaves 2 dead, five injured

A shooting has occurred at a school in Washington, in which authorities believe a bullied student shot and killed another. The shooter is also believed to be dead.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A school shooting has taken place at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Seattle, Washington. Two kids are dead, one of whom is the suspected shooter. Four other kids have been rushed to the hospital with wounds.

The shooting took place in a community about 35 miles north of Seattle and the shooter is reportedly a popular student who played football. The student is reportedly of Native American background. Reports suggest he may have been bullied, motivating the shooting.

Light a candle for the victims of this tragedy.

Police responded swiftly but the shooter is thought to have committed suicide, shooting himself before police arrived.

The shooting took place in the school's cafeteria around 10:45 AM.

Kids told the media that "there was blood everywhere" in the cafeteria. Allegedly, the shooter "had a blank stare in his eyes." He was also described as "a nice kid."

Shootings at schools in the U.S. have occurred with some frequency, enough to prompt school officials to practice active shooter drills on campuses and to train kids how to duck-and-cover and shelter in place. When conducted properly, these drills are effective teaching tools for survival. Unfortunately, they are sometimes conducted in ways that needlessly frighten students and the community, creating controversy.

Despite the best efforts of officials, there are few ways to protect against a determined shooter as this case illustrates. In this case, the shooter was a student who waited until a classroom break to attack his victims. No drill could have saved these lives.

Experts say that programs should be implemented to help students process anger and other frustrations that can lead to acts of violence. Kids should be protected from bullying and they need coping mechanisms.

It seems the days of two kids taking their disputed behind the school gym have left us behind and kids are all to quick to resort to extreme forms of violence, destroying themselves in the process.

Click here to light a candle for those affected by this shooting.

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