Security highly visible as students return to Seattle’s Garfield High School

Seattle Public Schools students returned to class Wednesday, including those at Garfield High School.

Students there are still reeling over the death of 17-year-old Amarr Murphy-Paine. Murphy-Paine was gunned down on campus during the lunch hour in June.

“We still are very much thinking about Amarr and the affects that’s had on the community. But, coming back into this, the mood isn’t as somber as it was at the end of school last year,” one Garfield senior said to KIRO Newsradio.

Previous coverage: Parents expected to support students returning to Garfield following deadly shooting

Meanwhile, the school shooting in Georgia that left two students and two teachers dead has reopened wounds, and some students are angry.

“This has been a trend, for what, the past two decades? Every other developed nation doesn’t have to deal with this. So, why are we still lagging behind? We’re the best country out there,” another student said.

More from Georgia: 4 dead, 9 injured and suspect arrested in high school shooting

Securing students at Garfield High School in Seattle

On the campus Wednesday, there was a highly visible security presence. There was an Seattle Police Department (SPD) officer sitting in the parking lot for most of the day. Two private security officers could be seen patrolling the campus, and members of the organization Community Passageways, some of them parents of Garfield students, on the scene at lunch time to help make sure students are safe.

“We feel like we’re part of the community so we come out to do whatever we can to provide whatever support, and to use whatever leverage we have to provide other avenues of thinking for these young folks,” Garfield parent and Community Passageways Member Ted Evans said.

Members of the organization Community Passageways, some of them parents of Garfield students, were on the scene at the school on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024 to help make sure students were safe. (Photo: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio)

Community Passageways’ mission is to create alternatives to incarceration for youth and young adults by rebuilding communities through committed relationships centered on love, compassion and consistency.

“We think it’s important to build relationships with these young folks so hopefully it carries on in their lives, so we’ll have space to be able to speak to them,” Evans said.

In the wake of the shooting of Murphy-Paine, parents and invested community organizations pledged to help keep curb violence near the school. It’s a pledge they take seriously as their presence here today demonstrates.

In the meantime, students just want to feel safe.

“Everybody is just glad to see their friends after summer and to not have had anymore losses. And we’re hoping this sticks out through the rest of the school year,” one Garfield senior said to KIRO Newsradio.

James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.

Follow @James_KIRORadio