MARYSVILLE — It is a sensitive subject, but one Marysville School District leaders believe is timely.
This week, suicide prevention experts will be talking with students and training others on how to look out for those at risk.
Robert Macy, a clinical psychologist and founder of the International Trauma Center in Boston, is heading up a team to lead assemblies Tuesday at Marysville Pilchuck High School. A freshman shot five classmates, killing four, and then himself in the cafeteria Oct. 24.
They’ll also be talking to students from other high schools and some from Totem Middle School. Similar conversations will occur at local schools in the months ahead.
Macy was introduced Monday to several dozen parents at a gathering on campus.
After this kind of tragedy, three months is a time to re-assess how people are doing, he said. In many cases, it gives students tools to get help for classmates who might be struggling.
District officials said they have received reports of about 20 cases of people experiencing suicidal thoughts since the shootings.
Macy’s team also is scheduled to meet with parents and people from the community from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Mountain View High School, 4317 76th St. NE, and from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Tulalip Administration Building, 6406 Marine Drive.
Macy plans to talk about suicide prevention, screening and recovery, and how to use social media for outreach.
Misinformation spread by social media proved a challenge after the October shootings, but it also can aid in prevention.
“Just as it can cause a lot of harm, it can do a lot of good,” he said.
Police and school leaders also brought up the trio of bomb threats last week at Marysville Pilchuck.
Similar threats have targeted schools across the country where shootings have occurred, said Mary Schoenfeldt, a trauma expert hired by the school district to lead the recovery effort.
The Marysville Police Department continues to investigate the threats, Chief Rick Smith said.
The chief described the threats as outlandish, each one worse than the previous, and “fully and completely debunked.”
Nevertheless, they all had to be taken seriously, Smith said. He, too, knows bomb threats are common at campuses where violence is a fresh memory.
“I anticipated the threats coming in within the first three weeks,” he said.
Schoenfeldt said she hoped TV stations will listen to people in Marysville. The sounds of news helicopters hovering over the campus last week took many back to the trauma from the day of the shootings, she said.
She encouraged those experiencing stress related to the tragedy to call the Care Crisis line at 1-800-584-3578.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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