Ominous messages sent minutes before Marysville shootings

MARYSVILLE — Minutes before a teenager opened fire inside a Marysville Pilchuck High School cafeteria, he sent a text message to more than a dozen relatives describing what he wanted to wear at his funeral.

The text message included a detailed list of who should get his personal possessions. Jaylen Fryberg, 15, also asked relatives to apologize to the families of his friends “who get caught up in the (expletive) tomorrow” — referring to the day after the shooting.

The Tulalip teen, recently crowned freshman homecoming prince, earlier sent a text to his friends, arranging to meet them for lunch Oct. 24. The victims were seated at the table when he opened fire with a .40-caliber Beretta handgun.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Killed were Gia Soriano, Zoe Galasso and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, all 14, and Andrew Fryberg, 15. All were shot in the head.

Nate Hatch, 14, was shot in the jaw. He is recovering at home.

The details of Jaylen’s last text messages — but not their full contents — were described by an Everett police detective in a search warrant affidavit, obtained Wednesday by The Daily Herald. The detective is part of the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team assigned to investigate the school shootings. He was seeking a judge’s permission to examine Jaylen’s cellphone.

Detectives have been poring over hundreds of text messages and social media posts since the violence. The medical examiner found the cellphone in Jaylen’s pocket.

The Everett police detective included in the warrant affidavit some text messages from Jaylen that indicate that he might have been planning something days before the shootings. The warrant says the detectives were searching for evidence of first-degree murder.

Jaylen had publicly posted some angry messages on social media starting in late July, but his posts otherwise were “pretty normal,” the detective wrote. Starting Oct. 18, however, his text messages took a darker turn.

Detectives learned that Jaylen had been upset by something that happened between him and a 15-year-old who is identified in the affidavit only by her initials and described as a “close friend.”

Investigators know what happened between the two but decided against including specifics in the search warrant to protect her identity, court papers said.

On Oct. 18 Jaylen sent this text:

“Ohk (sic) well don’t bother coming to my funeral”

The girl stopped responding and ignored other text messages.

Then on Oct. 22, Jaylen texted:

“I set the date. Hopefully you regret not talking to me”

“You have no idea what I’m talking about. But you will”

“Bang bang I’m dead”

The friend asked Jaylen to quit. He replied, “No. You don’t care. I don’t care.”

When she stopped responding Jaylen tried to reach her through another friend.

On the morning of the shootings, Jaylen used Facebook to send that friend a picture of a gun sitting between his legs, according to the search warrant. He told the friend to have the other girl “call me before I do this.” The message was sent about 10:25 a.m., minutes before Jaylen began shooting.

The gun in the photograph appears to be the same weapon detectives found lying on a table in the cafeteria after the shootings.

The search warrant doesn’t mention whether any other students were invited to lunch that day.

Detectives also investigated rumors that students had gone to a teacher or principal the day before the shootings and expressed concerns about Jaylen. Marysville Pilchuck is a school with 1,200 students.

There is nothing to support that rumor, SMART spokeswoman Shari Ireton said Wednesday.

“We have not been able to find a shred of evidence” of that, she said.

Investigators have spoken with dozens of people who were in the cafeteria that morning. The Everett detective spoke with two students who were eating lunch when the gunfire began.

“They looked up and observed Jaylen Fryberg standing at a table ‘calmly’ shooting other students,” the search warrant said.

Nate Hatch told investigators he was eating lunch when Jaylen stood up and started shooting. Jaylen fired at Nate. The bullet entered near his chin and traveled through his body, lodging in the strap of his backpack, the search warrant said.

When the detective joined others collecting bullet fragments and other evidence inside the cafeteria, the bodies of Jaylen and one of his victims, Zoe Galasso, had not yet been moved.

Jaylen was on his back, with his wrists secured in handcuffs. There was a gunshot wound below his chin. An autopsy later determined his death was a suicide.

The handcuffs were snapped in place by one of the first police officers on the scene — standard practice when securing the scene of a violent crime.

The day of the shootings, the Everett police detective met with two of Jaylen’s uncles. One asked the detective if he had seen the text.

The man said he and 13 other relatives received the message from Jaylen minutes before the shootings. The text was titled “My Funeral (expletive).”

The detective later went to speak with the boy’s parents. He was met by Tulalip police officers, who explained that the couple had received death threats and weren’t at home.

His father returned home and cooperated with investigators, allowing the detectives to search Jaylen’s bedroom.

“My hope was that we could find a note or something that would help explain what happened,” the detective wrote. “Nothing of evidentiary value was located in Jaylen’s room.”

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Everett Historic Theater owner Curtis Shriner inside the theater on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Historic Everett Theatre sale on horizon, future uncertain

With expected new ownership, events for July and August will be canceled. The schedule for the fall and beyond is unclear.

Contributed photo from Snohomish County Public Works
Snohomish County Public Works contractor crews have begun their summer 2016 paving work on 13 miles of roadway, primarily in the Monroe and Stanwood areas. This photo is an example of paving work from a previous summer. A new layer of asphalt is put down over the old.
Snohomish County plans to resurface about 76 miles of roads this summer

EVERETT – As part of its annual road maintenance and preservation program,… Continue reading

City of Everett Engineer Tom Hood, left, and City of Everett Engineer and Project Manager Dan Enrico, right, talks about the current Edgewater Bridge demolition on Friday, May 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How do you get rid of a bridge? Everett engineers can explain.

Workers began dismantling the old Edgewater Bridge on May 2. The process could take one to two months, city engineers said.

Smoke from the Bolt Creek fire silhouettes a mountain ridge and trees just outside of Index on Sept. 12, 2022. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County will host two wildfire-preparedness meetings in May

Meetings will allow community members to learn wildfire mitigation strategies and connect with a variety of local and state agencies.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Vehicles travel along Mukilteo Speedway on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mukilteo cameras go live to curb speeding on Speedway

Starting Friday, an automated traffic camera system will cover four blocks of Mukilteo Speedway. A 30-day warning period is in place.

Carli Brockman lets her daughter Carli, 2, help push her ballot into the ballot drop box on the Snohomish County Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Here’s who filed for the primary election in Snohomish County

Positions with three or more candidates will go to voters Aug. 5 to determine final contenders for the Nov. 4 general election.

Sound Transit approves contract to build Bothell bus facility

The 365,000-square-foot facility will be the heart of the agency’s new Stride bus rapid transit system, set to open in 2028.

One dead in Everett crash involving motorcycle and two vehicles

Police shut down the 10300 block of Evergreen Way in both directions during the multi-vehicle collision investigation.

Katie Wallace, left, checks people into the first flight from Paine Field to Honolulu on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Executive order makes way for Paine Field expansion planning

Expansion would be a long-range project estimated to cost around $300 million.

A person pauses to look at an art piece during the Schack Art Center’s 50th anniversary celebration on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett to seek Creative District designation

The city hopes to grow jobs in the creative sector and access new grant funds through the state label.

Former Herald writer Melissa Slager’s new book was 14-year project

The 520-page historical novel “Contests of Strength” covers the 1700 earthquake and tsunami on Makah lands.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.