Ron & Don: No forgiveness for Marysville school shooter

There’ve been plenty of calls for forgiveness and understanding for Jaylen Fryberg, the teen who opened fire Friday at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

In an interview with CNN Monday, Don Hatch, Jr., grandfather of shooting victim Nate Hatch, said rather than trying to figure out what happened, it’s time for healing. Nate Hatch, 14, is Fryberg’s cousin and one of several teens lured to the lunchroom. He is currently in satisfactory condition after being shot in the jaw.

“My feeling is that God knows what happened, and I think we all ought to leave it alone and leave it there because I don’t think we’re really going to find out really, totally, what happened,” he said.

Nate Hatch tweeted his forgiveness Monday:

But KIRO Radio’s Don O’Neill says now is not the time to simply forgive and move on. “What if you’re one of the dead girl’s families? Do you want to just leave it right there and leave it alone? I wouldn’t.”

Don says the shooting demands answers, or at least the effort to find them, especially for the families of Zoe Galasso, 14, and Gia Soriano, 14, both killed in the shooting, along with Andrew Fryberg, 15, and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, 14, both of whom remain in critical condition.

“If that was my daughter, I would want to know, where did the gun come from, whose gun was it, how come a mass shooter felt like he could show up at the school where my child is and summon them to a table and try to murder every one of the them,” says Don.

While a number of people have expressed forgiveness and compassion for the shooter, Don says he’s a mass murderer who deserves none of either.

“I’m mad about it. I want to know why he did it, because it’s one of the most horrific things I’ve ever heard of. These aren’t some bullies from another school. These are your family members, they are your friends. You took away their futures and then you’re a coward, too. You’re a coward because you then turn around and take your own life because you can’t live up to what you did,” he says.

A number of listeners have written the Ron and Don Show to criticize Don for his harsh words about the shooter. But Don remains unapologetic.

“I think those kids deserve to know and those families deserve to know because you want to make sure something like that never happens again. Were there warning signs? Was there something that somebody could have done? It’s just unconscionable, it is unforgivable.”