Security To Increase For Football Games In Goddard Stadium At Mariner High

Word in today from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Mukilteo School District that security will be beefed up tomorrow night during the football game at Mariner High. Here’s a joint press release issued earlier today.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Mukilteo School District will be increasing security and law enforcement presence at Goddard Stadium tomorrow night for Mariner High School’s football game against Monroe High School. In addition to the standard two-deputy detail at Friday night football games, Mukilteo School District has hired an additional Sheriff’s deputy to patrol the parking lot and the perimeter of the stadium. School staff and other school volunteers will also be on-site at the game, wearing easily-identifiable vests and carrying walkie-talkies.

“The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority and will continue to be moving forward,” said Nate DuChesne, Principal at Mariner High School. “We want our students, community and faculty to feel comfortable and safe attending events at Goddard Stadium. We are working closely with the Sheriff’s Office to assess last week’s incident and we continue to add extra safety measures to improve our response to an incident of this nature.”

Last Friday, September 14, the Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a fight between juveniles in the parking lot of Mariner High School. The school resource officer at Mariner High School responded to the parking lot and heard 5-6 shots fired nearby off campus by an unknown suspect. Detectives believe the shots were fired from a car driving on 4th Ave that had left the school parking lot seconds earlier. Detectives found evidence of a bullet strike in a vehicle parked in the school parking lot. There have been no identified victims or reported injuries as a result of the shots fired. Multiple casings were recovered by detectives in the roadway near the 12200 block of 4th Ave W.

Major Crimes Unit detectives continue to investigate the incident. At this time a suspect has not been identified. Individuals who are aware of a possible suspect(s) have not been cooperative with investigators.

Detectives have determined that shooting last night near the 300 block of 112th St SW that left one adult male injured is unrelated to the activity on September 14.

For the safety of the students and the school community, both law enforcement and the school district stress the importance of being prepared in advanced in the event of an emergency, including:

· Make a mental note of all possible exits. The most direct route out or the way you came in may be blocked or unsafe as an exit.

· Make a plan with your family or group for how you will communicate and where you can safely reconnect nearby, but off-site.

· Stay calm, do not panic and follow the directions of first responders.

· Locate a school staff member or someone in uniform for help or assistance.