cwinters@heraldnet.com

MARYSVILLE — Parents, students, staff and community leaders gathered Sunday in Marysville-Pilchuck High School’s gym for the first time since the deadly Friday shooting.

Students who hadn’t seen each other since hugged and shed tears. Parents waited apprehensively and talked with their neighbors. No one knew what to expect in the days and weeks to come.

The community meeting was another vigil, but for the extended Marysville and Tulalip community, with hundreds of people packing the bleachers.

Four students remained in area hospitals with life-threatening head wounds. Andrew Fryberg, 15, was in critical condition in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center. His cousin Nate Hatch, 14, was also there, in serious but improving condition. At Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Gia Soriano and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, both 14, were in critical condition.

Zoe Raine Galasso, 14, was killed in the shooting. The boy responsible, Jaylen Fryberg, 14, also died.

“This is a tough day, and we’ve got a few more ahead of us,” Marysville schools superintendent Becky Berg said.

When she introduced speakers, Police Chief Rick Smith and other officers in the room received a standing ovation, with Tulalip leaders raising their hands in respect.

“Today is about our kids, moving forward, answering questions if we can, and making sure all of us can feel safe and secure,” Berg said.

“A tragedy like this can tear us apart or draw us closer together. What happens to one child affects all children. What affects one community affects all communities,” she said.

Tulalip councilwoman Deborah Parker spoke on behalf of the tribal leadership.

“We know our hearts are heavy, we know our communities are wondering what has taken place, but most of all I want to thank all those who are stepping up to say, ‘I’m with you,’” said Parker, who is both an alumna of M-P and the mother of a current student.

“We’ll stand behind you to make sure we’ll all stand strong and united as one family.”

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring reminded the students that they are all loved, and that adults are there to listen to them and support them. “That may sound corny, but you need to hear it,” Nehring said.

“If you need to talk to an adult, find somebody,” he said, “and if that person doesn’t listen, find somebody else and keep going until someone pays attention. We owe that to you.”

Before the program, parents said they were seeking guidance.

Parent Brandi Mendez wanted to understand how to help her family work through what happened. “How can we recover from this?” Mendez said. “How can we support the children? What are the right things to say to them?”

Bill Kennedy, whose son Jack attends Arts and Tech High in Tulalip, wanted to hear how the district was going to both ensure the kids’ safety, without upsetting their lives even more.

“Sometimes there’s a knee-jerk reaction, to lock down the kids,” Kennedy said. “Truncating the ability of the kids to have a good high school experience doesn’t help. I’m hoping they talk more about healing and not control.”

Other parents just wanted accurate information. Misty Creel was hoping the district would clear up the rumors circulating online about which of the victims were still alive and which, if any, had died.

“There’s a lot of contamination online,” Creel said.

Marge Martin, executive director of Victim Support Services in Everett, told people know about their free services, which include counseling, and their 24-hour crisis line, at 800-346-7555.

The school district is doing the right thing by bringing the community together to grieve, Martin said.

“I’m hopeful this will continue the conversation of getting their collective arms around the kids and supporting them,” she said.

There are no classes at M-P this week, but starting Tuesday, the gym will be opened as a drop-in center for students, with grief counselors and other staff available to help.

Classes will be held in other district schools, although the schools will respect what families feel they need to do over the next few days, Berg said.