Garfield HS Cancels In-Person Classes Due to Increase in Gun Violence

Reporting by Cesar Canizales

(SEATTLE)-- Garfield High School canceled in-person classes on Friday because of the recent increase in gun violence near and around the campus in the Central District. Online classes started with a two-hour delay.

In an email to students and parents, Principal Tarance Hart said he took the action “out of an abundance of caution.”

On Thursday, the school closed “early due to threats that appeared to be related to dismissal time and after school. Seattle Police Department and SPS Security were on campus and in the neighborhood during our early dismissal. No incidents were seen or reported,” the email said.

In-person learning and after-school activities will resume Monday, according to a message Hart sent to parents on Saturday.

Hart said that Seattle Public Schools contracted additional security at Garfield and Nova High School for the whole week, which had also canceled Friday’s classes. Hart added that the SPS Safety and Security team and school administration “will continue to monitor safety and security in order to prepare for the remaining weeks of school.”

While violence around the area is not new, there has been a notable increase lately, especially near the school. Over the past few weeks, there were three shootings that led to Friday’s cancellation of in-person classes.

On May 26, a man was shot near the school’s Teen Life Center, according to the Seattle Police Department. Officers found a man who had been shot near 25th Ave. and East Jefferson St.

On Wednesday, May 24, SPD responded to reports of a shooting near 26th Ave. and East Jefferson St. While police were investigating that shooting, they received reports that a young person had been dropped off at a nearby hospital with a gunshot wound. 

And on May 18, police responded to a shooting near the school. Officers found a 19-year-old in the parking lot of the Garfield Teen Life Center with multiple gunshot wounds. The man, who is not a student at Garfield, was taken to the hospital. 

“Scared and frustrated”

Sharon Khosla, who has a daughter who goes to Garfield, said she is “worried and scared and frustrated” by the recent incidents of violence. But she said she understands the actions taken by the principal to go to online instruction on Friday.

“What is the administration in school going to do? There’s nothing they can do,” Khosla said, adding that other parents are frustrated about the cancellation of in-person classes. “It’s Just a very difficult situation, and I don’t know how anyone could solve this problem.”

Khosla said her daughter and other students generally don’t feel unsafe and feel that the administration is doing a good job. However, she said that the students are not getting all the information. 

“They didn’t know what happened,” Khosla said. “They were just told to leave.”

In the email to families, Hart acknowledged that the violence has created anxiety for the community. 

“We know the increase in violence in our community has raised concerns for students, families, and staff. SPS will be using this time to gather information, consult with partners, and work on measures to support our school,” Hart wrote.

Khosla, who works and lives near the school, said that violence is always in the back of her mind.

“I feel like over past two months, it’s getting close, getting closer,” Khosla said. “The fact that there have been several shootings just in the past month— it feels very real. This is hitting close to home.”

SPD’s increased role 

Seattle Police Department Detective Judinna Gulpan said in an email to Converge Media that the department “has been working closely with the Seattle School District to identify and address the ongoing disputes resulting in violence.” 

Gulpan added that SPD will start emphasizing police presence around Garfield to “assist in protecting public safety, deter possible criminal activity, and prevent violence.”

On early Friday afternoon, there was no visible police presence around the school. 

Khosla said she’s not sure if more police presence is the answer.

“We have seen the effects the police have had on our community—it hasn’t always been positive.” Khosla said. “At the same time, if police aren’t going to be there, you’re leaving it to the administration to do that— to solve those problems— when they really have no mechanisms to do anything about that. Their mechanisms are to educate our children.”

Community meeting

Khosla said she has learned that the school’s administration will hold a meeting with parents and community members on Monday evening to discuss the situation. She added that Hart has been doing a good job, considering the situation, and her daughter feels like she’s “cared for.”

“I know my daughter feels she has access to the principal,” Khosla said. 

However, Khosla said her daughter and other students hope they don’t have to do online school for the rest of the year.

“They all have a visceral reaction to that because of the isolation they had,” referring to online classes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s probably why we’re here. There are a lot of very angry and frustrated people.”

Hart said all after-school evening and weekend activities were canceled. The Teen Life Center was closed as well.

In a statement, Seattle Public Schools said Nova High School, an alternative learning school near Garfield, also had been closed because of the potential threat. SPS said it will have additional information for parents later this evening.