Over 500 students absent, ‘scared’ after Washington state high school intrusion of masked attackers

Over 500 high school students were absent from a Washington state high school Tuesday, after a small squad of masked individuals caused havoc during the school day Monday.

The Auburn School District told Fox News Digital that 532 students were absent from Auburn Riverside High School on Tuesday, after an incident shook up the tight-knit school community.

“We had an incident on Monday that has been widely publicized that has contributed to the number of students absent at that school [Tuesday],” a spokesperson from the school district said.

Brandy Garber, whose daughter goes to the high school, said that she kept her daughter following the incident.

“She’s scared. Then on the other side of it, she wants to go to school because she feels like her grades are dropping with me keeping her out. But as a parent, what do you do?” Gerber told local news station KIRO-TV.

The Auburn Police Department said that on Monday, five masked people approached a side door of the school building around 1 p.m and entered into a classroom.

The intruders ran through the halls and pushed four students and punched one other, Auburn police confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Garber told the news station that her daughter said that chaos broke out after the masked intruders entered the school hallways.

“She said everybody started running,” Garber told KIRO-TV. “They said people came in and were masked and were pushing people out of the way.”

School administrators quickly jumped into action, chasing the individuals from school grounds, police said.

“Administrators chased them and got them out of the building pretty fast,” a spokesperson at the police department said.

Law enforcement said they believe the situation stemmed from a fight on school grounds last week.

Following the incident, the local high school went into a “secure and teach” lockdown throughout the rest of the day. Exterior and interior doors were closed and locked, and students stayed in their designated classrooms.

Police said that throughout this week, additional officers have been present on school grounds, and at football games.

Auburn Riverside Superintendent Dr. Alan Spicciati told KIRO-TV that the school intends to “take some very serious action.”

“We have a lot of students and families upset about this. I’m upset. And we are going to take some very serious action because when you make choices, there is accountability,” Dr. Spicciati said.

Authorities are still investigating the incident, and said that the unruly individuals were not supposed to be on campus.