The shocking account suggests Silberger, a first year social services teacher and part-time soccer player, may have prevented a massacre at the Washington school.
Jaylen Ray Fryberg. Photo / Facebook
Nonetheless, hundreds of students, teachers and parents piled into a nearby church tonight for a candlelit vigil as the community reels in shock struggling to cope with the tragic loss of life as four teenagers are treated in hospital.
Erick Cervantes, the first student who called 911 during the attack, told KIRO-TV: 'I believe [Megan Silberger] is actually the real hero.
'She's the one that intercepted him with the gun.
'He tried either reloading or tried aiming at her. She tried moving his hand away and he tried shooting and shot himself in the neck.
'It started off with an argument, but then I looked back and there was just gunshots and just people falling down.
Tearful students are reunited with friends and family outside of a reunification centre at Shoultes Christian Assembly Church. Photo / AP
'She heard the gunshots first and she came in running through the door, right next to it.
'It wasn't [a] wrestle. She just grabbed his arm, and it lasted like two seconds, and I heard another shot.'
That shot, he says, was the one that killed Fryberg.
The shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School lasted just two minutes between 10.41am and 10.43am on Friday.
The horrific attack has left the entire community reeling as friends described Fryberg, a member of the Tulalip Native-American tribe, as a 'well-respected, great guy'.
Authorities are now scrambling to determine a possible cause for the shooting as the four survivors fight for their lives in hospital.
Pupils have told news stations Fryberg was suspended from the football team in recent weeks after being involved in a fight over 'racist' comments.
Others said he had been rejected by a girl.
Marysville Pilchuck High School junior Carsyn Yorkoski, centre, tearfully reunites with his sister, Kyla Yorkoski, right. Photo / AP
Last night, Pastor Nik Baumgart told the hundreds who filled the church and spilled out into the parking lot: 'I hate this tragedy as much as any of you. I hate what's going on. I hate what we've had to see.
'And I remember all kinds of times when I've had the same thoughts that you've had about that city, about that situation, about those schools.
'Now that's us. Now that's my alma mater. Here's what we're here to do tonight. It's simple. It's honestly overly simple. Love one another. Weep together.'
Fryberg's tweets had become increasingly ominous in the months leading up to his bloody tirade. Recently he tweeted: 'Your gonna piss me off... And then some s*** gonna go down and I don't think you'll like it...'.
His final tweet on Thursday night ominously stated: 'It won't last...It'll never last...'.
Just hours later he entered the crowded cafeteria during lunch break with 'a blank stare' on his face and walked up behind one table clutching a handgun, witnesses described.
According to Cervantes there was an argument before Fryberg launched his attack.
Multiple shots were fired, hitting five students.
One is said to have died at the scene before Fryberg turned the gun and killed himself.
Watch: School shooting reported in Washington
All four of the victims were taken to Providence Regional Hospital in critical condition. Two were admitted to theatre for surgery, while the remaining two were transported to nearby Harborview Medical Center.
The school has now been closed until November 3 and counsellors have been brought in to speak with traumatized witnesses and friends of the victims.
Friday night's football match between Marysville-Pilchuck and Oak Harbor High School was cancelled and Oak Harbor announced it would take second place as a gesture.
Footage taken of the aftermath showed shaking teenagers being evacuated from the school with their hands in the air so officers could be sure they were not armed.
Officers with rifles rushed across the field to check the students for either injuries or weapons before taking them to a local church, where parents were gathered.
The school was placed on lockdown at 10.43am Pacific time after students and teachers called 911 about multiple shots fired in the cafeteria.
By 11am, a full SWAT team was at the scene.
A male victim being treated at Harborview Medical Center emerged from surgery at 4.30pm Easter time but was still in a serious condition.
Last night, Chief Rik Smith of Marysville Police Department told a press conference FBI agents will work through the night interviewing witnesses to piece together details of the crime.
He refused to say Fryberg's name, adding: 'I will not perpetuate this cruel act in a place where kids should feel safe. I will not perpetuate that by spending any time on the shooter.
'Instead I want to focus on the heroic efforts of teacher who quickly moved students to safety and the students who helped each other.'
Herman Williams Jr, chairman of the Tulalip Tribe, also addressed media.
He said: 'I am deeply saddened by the terrible tragedy in our local school district. Our prayers go out to the families and the entire community.
'Our first priority is to support the families and the children of those involved.
'Our community is reeling from this experience, so we ask that the media and the public honor the families and our children in this time of grief. Sadly, we are now experiencing what has become a national trend, which we, as a society, must address.
'These are our children. They are suffering, and their lives will be forever changed.
'The fact that tribal members were involved makes it extremely hard to respond to any inquiries until we are aware of all the circumstances.
'As chairman, I ask everyone to pray for the children and families of those involved.'
A student who spoke to CNN on the phone from inside the school described a grisly scene inside the cafeteria, telling the news outlet: 'There was blood everywhere.'
According to the unnamed teen, Fryberg was a popular freshman and a member of the Marysville-Pilchuk football team, but he was recently suspended for fighting.
He was also an avid hunter and gun enthusiast, as evidenced by photos posted on his social media accounts.
A few months ago, he shared a picture online showing off a new rifle he had received for his birthday.
Earlier this month, the freshman was crowned homecoming prince, but a classmate told CNN that may have been subjected to bullying.
Police Commander Robb Lamoureux told reporters authorities believed that the shooter acted alone, but had no immediate word on a motive.
However, Jarron Webb, 15, told the Seattle Times Fryberg was angry at a girl for spurning his advance, and that he shot her dead as payback for her rejection.
On the eve of the shooting, Fryberg wrote an ominous final post on Twitter that read: 'it won't last.... It'll never last.... '
While Fryberg's friends and classmates described him as a nice, well-liked boy, his online history paints a somewhat different picture.
Over the past few months, Fryberg had unleashed a series of foul-mouthed and highly sexualized tweets venting his rage over a breakup. In some messages, the high school freshman expressed a desire to end his life.
'F*** it!! Might As Well Die Now,' the 15-year-old tweeted in June.
Earlier this week, just days before the shooting rampage, Fryberg fired off a cryptic message that read: 'Alright. You f***ing got me.... That broke me.'
A boy who witnessed the attack said at one point during the shooting, the gunman's handgun jammed, and the boy used that opportunity to flee the cafeteria.
He added that the teenager, whom he described as a 'nice kid,' remained silent while squeezing off rounds and had a 'blank stare' in his eyes.
Police planned to complete a full investigation in the school by 4am local time.
According to a press conference held at around 3pm Eastern time, officers were still finding groups of students and teachers hiding inside classrooms.
'I was in my classroom and someone pulled the fire alarm and we thought it was a fire drill and we ran out and they told us to go back in a classroom,; student Cindy Rodriguez, 17, told NBC News. 'We're scared.'
Ayn Dietrich, an FBI spokesperson in Seattle, said the agency had personnel on their way to the scene to help authorities with the investigation.
Officials at Marysville-Pilchuk posted a message on the school's website that read in part: 'Students who attend MPHS campus are being relocated to the Shoultes Community Church at the corner of 116th and 51st Street. Buses will take students home from there.
'Those parents in the area wanting to pick up their child will need to go to the church location and sign out their child out with school administrator or law enforcement.
'All after-school activities across the district are cancelled today.'
Parents were being asked to bring their identification cards in order to pick up their children from the church.
The latest school shooting in the region happened at Seattle Pacific University, where a gunman killed one student and wounded two others on June 5 this year.
- Daily Mail
