Mount Vernon principal raising funds after Cascade Mall shooting

Classmates of Sarai Lara, one of five people killed in the Cascade Mall shooting on Friday, are rallying together to help support each other through the grief.

Rod Merrell, principal at Mount Vernon High School, says when the staff came in early on Monday to talk about how they would support their students, they found the kids had a plan of their own.

“We come out of our meeting room and our kids — I would say probably 6- or 700 kids — had formed up a circle in the middle of our campus and did probably a 15 minute moment of silence,” Merrell said. “It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.”

Now, Merrell is trying to get the word out that they’re trying to raise money to show their support for Sarai’s family. He set up a GoFundMe page to purchase “We Are MV” shirts for all staff and students. It’s a slogan the kids use often on social media.

“Our school is hurting right now and any help would be appreciated,” Merrell writes.

He told KIRO Radio’s Ron and Don the shirts are meant to capture the incredible sense of community that happened after the shooting. The students and staff plan to gather together as a community to honor Sarai’s family.

As of Tuesday evening, Merrell had collected $4,500. The goal is $7K to pay for about 2,100 shirts.

Finally, Merrell said he just wanted to thank everyone who has reached out to the school and the community to show support.

“This is just a great place to be and we want to keep it that way,” he said.

UPDATE: Puget Sound Energy pledged $5,000 to cover the costs of the shirts so that the GoFundMe money could go to the victim’s family instead. A big THANK YOU to Kimberly Harris and Andy Wappler with PSE and big THANK YOU to the Ron and Don listeners. We couldn’t do what we do without you tuning in everyday.

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