Community gathers at Marysville-Pilchuck High School

Hundreds of students, parents and community members gathered at Marysville-Pilchuck High School Sunday to comfort each other, pray, and discuss ways to move forward from Friday’s shooting that left three dead and three other teens critically wounded.

“It’s a tough day, and we’ve got a few more ahead of us,” said one former student at the gathering.

Tribal members played drums and sang songs, while young people hugged each other and cried and speakers urged people to come together during the community meeting.

On Friday, a 14-year-old homecoming prince opened fire in the school cafeteria, killing two girls and badly wounding three other teenagers.

“We just have to reach for that human spirit right now,” said Deborah Parker, a member of the Tulalip Indian tribes.

The shooter, Jaylen Fryberg, was from a prominent tribal family. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

Three of the injured students continued fighting for their lives in Seattle-area hospitals Sunday.

Of the wounded students, only 14-year-old Nate Hatch showed improvement, though he remained in serious condition in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Fifteen-year-old Andrew Fryberg also remained in critical condition in intensive care. Both are cousins of Jaylen Fryberg.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old Shaylee Chuckulnaskit remained in critical condition in intensive care at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. Gia Soriano, 14, passed away Sunday night, according to the hospital.

The girl who died Friday hasn’t been officially identified, but a family friend tells MyNorthwest.com she’s Zoe Galasso, 14, a fellow classmate and friend of the shooter.

Corey Williams, 37, of Lake Stevens tells MyNorthwest.com the family is devastated. He’s established a gofundme.com page to raise funds for them to offset some of their expenses.

“I was trying to find a way to show people care,” he says. “Nobody could ever anticipate something like this happening. There are going to be expenses, whether it’s funeral costs or missing work. It’s exactly what we need to do.”

As of Sunday afternoon, the page had raised over $15,000, far surpassing Williams’ goal of $10,000.

A separate fund was established Sunday for Gia Soriano.

Fryberg died in the attack, after a first-year teacher intervened. It’s unclear if he intentionally killed himself or if the gun went off in a struggle with a teacher.

The close-knit community, meanwhile, on the nearby Tulalip Indian reservation struggled with the news that the shooter was a popular teenager from one of their more well-known families.

A tribal guidance counselor said no one knows what motivated Fryberg.

“We can’t answer that question,” said Matt Remle, who has an office at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, which is 30 miles north of Seattle. “But we try to make sense of the senselessness.”

In the nearby community of Oso, where a mudslide this spring killed dozens, people planned to gather to write condolence letters and cards.

Remele said he knew Fryberg and the other students well.

“My office has been a comfort space for Native students,” he said. “Many will come by and have lunch there, including the kids involved in the shooting.”

They all were “really happy, smiling kids,” Remle said. “They were a polite group. A lot of the kids from the freshman class were close-knit. Loving.

“These were not kids who were isolated,” he said. “They had some amazing families, and have amazing families.”

These factors make the shooting that much more difficult to deal with, “Maybe it would be easier if we knew the answer,” Remle said. “But we may never know.”

Earlier in the day, hundreds gathered for services at the Grove Church, where students were brought following the shooting Friday.

“It is okay to be angry today, it is okay to cry today, it is okay to be numb, it is okay to question,” Pastor Andrew Munoz told his congregation, KUOW reports. “I am here to tell you, man, God can handle all of those things today, and every emotion you have is totally okay.”

With school cancelled for the week, the church and many others will open their doors throughout the week to provide a place for students to gather and seek comfort.

Reporting by KIRO Radio’s Tim Haeck and the Associated Press is included in this report.