EVERETT — Three-fourths of Cascade High School’s 1,860 students didn’t show up for class Friday, following a spray painted threat left earlier this week on the school’s mascot saying five students would be shot.
“There were definitely a lot fewer kids,” said spokeswoman Mary Waggoner.
Nothing unusual took place on Friday except, with 1,420 absences, having far smaller classes, she said.
Police were on campus on Friday and will continue to be this weekend, Waggoner said.
College admission testing is scheduled at the school on Saturday.
“We’ve had calls come in to the tip line,” Waggoner said. “We’re asking people who might know anything to come forth and make that phone call.”
The threat message was left on the school’s concrete bruin mascot and discovered before school on Tuesday.
Officials did not release its exact content but said it mentioned shooting five Cascade High School students.
At the time, Waggoner said that it was an unspecified threat, but serious enough for police to investigate.
School officials sent an email and telephone voice mail to families saying students could expect to see heightened security on campus.
Even though most of the student body was absent Friday, it previously had been set as an early release day, meaning students were only scheduled to be at school from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Waggoner said.
So it’s unclear how many students were absent out of safety concerns and how many simply wanted to take off to enjoy a rare, warm sunny day in a spring filled with unusually heavy amounts of rain.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
Tip line
Anyone with information on the Cascade High School threat may call the school district’s anonymous tip line 425-385-5050 or call the police at 911.
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