Marysville Pilchuck High School shootings timeline

A timeline of the Marysville Pilchuck High School shootings on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014:

7:44 a.m. — The shooter worked on a text message on his phone that he would later send out to family members, describing his funeral preferences and apologizing for the violence. The message was composed at least in part the afternoon before.

10:25 a.m. — The shooter sent a picture of his gun via Facebook message to a friend of his former girlfriend, who lives in another county.

10:27 a.m. — The shooter spoke with someone who called his phone. The caller’s name is redacted from reports. The call lasted about 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

10:37 a.m. — The shooter sent his father a text message, “Read the paper on my bed. Dad I love you.” (This note has not been recovered by investigators.) Four seconds later, he sent a group text message to more than a dozen relatives with instructions for his funeral.

10:39 a.m. — The first 911 call about gunfire at the high school comes in from a cellphone. More follow.

10:40-10:41 a.m. — The police officer stationed at the school arrives in the cafeteria where the shooting occurred. He finds six students on the ground with gunshot wounds.

10:43 a.m. — Police confirm that the shooter — a freshman at the school — is down and no longer shooting and that he took his own life after opening fire on five other students.

10:49 a.m. — Medics begin to reach the scene to help the injured.

11 a.m. — The Marysville Police Department calls for a full SWAT deployment to search the campus.

11 a.m. — A police officer finds the shooter’s father in the crowd outside the school and later arranges for the family to be taken aside.

11:07 a.m. — Marysville schools send an alert to the community that the high school is in lockdown.

11:25 a.m. — Four victims arrive via ambulance at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

11:59 a.m. — The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team is called in.

12:22 p.m. — Police conducting another search of the cafeteria find eight staff members hiding in a locked room behind the kitchen. Among them is Megan Silberberger, the teacher who tried to stop the shooter before he took his own life.

12:48 p.m. — A briefing is held for the SMART detectives in the teachers lounge on what is known and not known.

1:21 p.m. — The text message sent to family members is shared with police.

2:36 p.m. — Police confirm that all students who were not injured have been reunited with their families.

3:40 p.m. — The shooter’s parents allow police to search his bedroom. Nothing of value to the investigation was found.

4:35 p.m. — The SWAT team declares the entire school clear of threat.

5:01 p.m. — All students and faculty are confirmed to be gone from campus.

7:30 p.m. — The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office arrives at the school.

9 p.m. — Detectives debrief at the scene.

10:15 p.m. — The cafeteria is turned back over to the school district.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

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.

Students from Explorer Middle School gather Wednesday around a makeshift memorial for Emiliano “Emi” Munoz, who died Monday, May 5, after an electric bicycle accident in south Everett. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Community and classmates mourn death of 13-year-old in bicycle accident

Emiliano “Emi” Munoz died from his injuries three days after colliding with a braided cable.

Danny Burgess, left, and Sandy Weakland, right, carefully pull out benthic organisms from sediment samples on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Got Mud?’ Researchers monitor the health of the Puget Sound

For the next few weeks, the state’s marine monitoring team will collect sediment and organism samples across Puget Sound

Cal Brennan, 1, sits inside of a helicopter during the Paine Field Community Day on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Children explore world of aviation at Everett airport

The second annual Paine Field Community Day gave children the chance to see helicopters, airplanes and fire engines up close.

A person walks past Laura Haddad’s “Cloud” sculpture before boarding a Link car on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024 in SeaTac, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sound Transit seeks input on Everett bike, pedestrian improvements

The transit agency is looking for feedback about infrastructure improvements around new light rail stations.

A standard jet fuel, left, burns with extensive smoke output while a 50 percent SAF drop-in jet fuel, right, puts off less smoke during a demonstration of the difference in fuel emissions on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Sustainable aviation fuel center gets funding boost

A planned research and development center focused on sustainable aviation… Continue reading

Dani Mundell, the athletic director at Everett Public Schools, at Everett Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Everett Public Schools to launch girls flag football as varsity sport

The first season will take place in the 2025-26 school year during the winter.

A “SAVE WETLANDS” poster is visible under an seat during a public hearing about Critical Area Regulations Update on ordinance 24-097 on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County Council passes controversial critical habitat ordinance

People testified for nearly two hours, with most speaking in opposition to the new Critical Areas Regulation.

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.