'Hit the deck!' Shots fired outside Mariner High School; football stadium evacuated



EVERETT, Wash. -- About 200 people evacuated Mariner High School's football stadium in Everett after gunfire broke out near the school, an official at the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said.

Snohomish County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Courtney O'Keefe said somewhere between 5 or 6 shots were fired. Deputies found those shell cases on 4th Avenue.

O'Keefe said they received a 911 call about 9 p.m. that a fight was happening in the parking lot at Mariner High School. They then received word that shots had been fired.

No injuries have been reported, at this time.

The sheriff's office does not have a description of the suspects.

Andy Muntz, spokesperson for the Mukilteo School District said there were three police officers assigned to the game.  He said the district has evacuation plans for emergencies at all of its sites; there are also signs posted with emergency information throughout the stadium.

Muntz said security and administrators were onsite checking bags at the gate as tickets were taken.



A former student told Q13 News she heard four pops one right after another. She said it took about three minutes before people around the stadium starts running for the exits.

"Me and a group of forty people went underneath the bleachers and stayed there until we heard people were leaving and that it was safe to go," Caitlin said.

Jim Locke, who was at the game with friends, said the announcers stopped the game and said, "hit the deck!"

"At that point, I was like, 'there's got to be a shooting incident or something like that going on," Locke said.

Locke told Q13 News he heard the shots but in the distances. He said after the announcement to "hit the deck" chaos ensued and parents were desperately trying to find their children and escape the stadium.

The Mariner Marauders were playing rival Kamiak Knights when the shots were heard.