Washington High School Shooting Update: Ex Girlfriend Calls Jaylen Fryberg Her Soulmate Amid Reports He Sent Her a Selfie With a Gun
A young woman identified as the estranged girlfriend of the student responsible for a fatal school shooting in Washington state last week is speaking out.
Officials say that the shooter, 14-year-old Jaylen Fryberg, was a popular student at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School, which is about 40 miles north of Seattle. Not only was Fryberg a well-liked athlete who played on the school football team, but he was also named the Freshman Class Homecoming Prince just one week prior to the tragic incident.
Despite all that he had going for himself, messages Fryberg posted on social media in the weeks leading up to the shooting suggest that he was emotionally torn over a recent breakup with his girlfriend.
"It breaks me... It actually does.... I know it seems like I'm sweating it off... But I'm not.. And I never will be able to," he tweeted earlier this month, according to CNN.
Fryberg posted his final tweet last Thursday, which read, "It won't last.... It'll never last...."
A law enforcement official said Fryberg took a selfie of himself holding a gun and sent it to his ex-girlfriend, Shilene George, shortly before the attack. He then opened fire in a crowded lunchroom, killing two of his friends and wounding three others Friday morning before killing himself.
"Jaylen sent a picture of a handgun positioned between his legs to Shilene just minutes before he went on his killing spree. The picture places him at the scene, the school cafeteria," said an inside source to Radar Online. "Jaylen looks like he was sitting at a table when he took the picture showing a gun placed between his legs ... Most likely he was sitting at the table with the very people he shot just minutes later."
The source added that Fryberg also sent George a text message that was intended to hurt her.
Earlier this week, George posted pictures on her Facebook page showing her and Jaylen during happier times.
"I love you with all I have, Jaylen Ray. You have my heart and you will forever be my soulmate. Rest easy, baby boy," she wrote in a post on Tuesday, according to KING 5.
According to sources, George, who attends another high school in the area and was not present during the shooting spree on Oct. 24, "is devastated by what happened."
A source also said that Fryberg had become "violent" with George in the days before the rampage, and that her family forced her to end their relationship.
A spokesperson for the George family said that the last few days have been really difficult for the ex-girlfriend. The family also released a statement, saying: "This is heartbreaking. We are focusing our prayers, thoughts, and well wishes on the families that've been directly impacted by this tragedy."
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