Over 500 Students Absent After Masked Intruders Terrorize Washington High School

More than 500 students were absent from their classes at a Washington high school Tuesday following a shocking attack by a group of masked intruders that wreaked havoc on the campus.

Auburn Riverside High School, located in Auburn, Washington, was sent into a state of chaos last Monday when five individuals entered the building and physically assaulted multiple students, reported Fox News. 

Local police told the outlet that the five masked people approached a side door of the school building at approximately 1 p.m. and entered a classroom before running through the halls, pushing four students and punching another.

“Administrators chased them and got them out of the building pretty fast,” a police spokesperson said, adding that the department suspects the situation stemmed from a fight at the school that took place the week before.

After the situation calmed down, the school went into a “secure and teach” lockdown for the rest of the day, meaning that all doors were locked and students continued their day in their designated classrooms. Throughout the rest of the week, the school security was beefed up with additional police presence.

Five hundred thirty-two students were recorded as absent the day after the shocking event, the Auburn School District reported.

“We had an incident on Monday that has been widely publicized that has contributed to the number of students absent at that school [Tuesday],” a district spokesperson said.

A local parent explained why she kept her daughter home following the incident to local news station KIRO-TV.

“She’s scared. Then on the other side of it, she wants to go to school because she feels like her grades are dropping with me keeping her out. But as a parent, what do you do?” concerned mother Brandy Garber said. “She said everybody started running. They said people came in and were masked and were pushing people out of the way.”

Auburn Riverside Superintendent Dr. Alan Spicciati told the news station that they will “take some very serious action.”

“We have a lot of students and families upset about this. I’m upset. And we are going to take some very serious action because when you make choices, there is accountability,” Dr. Spicciati said.