AUBURN, Wash. — Some parents said they were planning to attend Monday’s Auburn School Board meeting after masked intruders got into Auburn Riverside High School’s campus last week and assaulted multiple students.
According to the district, there were no serious injuries reported.
Jacqualine Boles is a parent of an Auburn Riverside High senior.
“Really disappointed, it went on too long,” she said as she looked at a video of a school fight that has been widely shared on social media.
Two fights were reported at the school on Friday, Oct. 13. It's unclear if there's a connection, but the following Monday is when the school says five intruders rushed onto campus, punching one student and pushing several others.
According to the school, the five intruders, all wearing medical masks, were let in by a student who did not know they were unauthorized to be there.
In a letter home to families the principal wrote, “The intruders were in the building for under one minute, contacted within seconds by teachers and administrators, and left the building.”
According to Boles, last Tuesday there were rumors about yet another security concern.
"I just went from zero to 100,” she said.
Boles decided to keep her son home that day.
"Over 500 parents had done the same thing and kept their kids home,” she said.
Families say the past week has been frustrating and at times frightening. For Boles, her focus now is on how to make it safer for her son and for the school.
"I don't want us to be reactionary. I want us to be planners. I want us to be thinking, how could this have been avoided? What measures can be in place,” asked Boles. "It is a shock factor going on, so we got to put some measures in place."
The Auburn School District says three of the five intruders have been identified so far. The district can’t provide discipline information but does say the intruders will be held accountable.