Mukilteo community mourns shooting victims

MUKILTEO, Wash. – A vigil for the victims of Saturday morning’s shooting in Mukilteo brought more than a hundred people to Kamiak High School on Saturday night for a vigil.

One of those that came early was Taige Timmermann. He said he needed to come to peace with the news. “I don’t know how many students went here, but I would never check Allen as a killer,” said Timmermann.

Taige Timmermann was friends with Allen Ivanov, the suspected shooter. He said Ivanov was the person you’d vote most likely to be a billionaire, hardworking and successful in technology.

“Allen always had this bright smile when I saw him, not to put him in a bright light, but he had a bright smile,” he said before breaking down in tears.

Timmermann said he is caught in the middle, not only is his friend suspected of murder, the people who were killed are also his friends.

Anna Bui, Jake Long and Jordan Ebner were all killed Saturday morning just after midnight, another was critically injured in the shooting. Timmermann said he was invited to the house party where the shooting took place, instead he decided to go to a different party.

In the moments after the shooting, he received a text from a friend. “They start talking about a white WRX Subaru,” said Timmermann. “Oh, Allen drives one of those,” he remembered thinking, not putting the pieces together.

Later that day, he learned alongside others in the small community of Mukilteo the news.

“It’s hard thinking about him as a person like that,” he said.

Olga Manko came to Kamiak to grieve with her friends the life of her best friend, Anna Bui, taken at 19. “She was always joyful. Always loving,” said Manko. “She put others above herself all the time.”

Andrew Pitts said all three victims were good friends, and people you would want to know. “Jake was a real funny guy, he was always upbeat,” said Pitts about Jake Long.

Jordan Ebner, said Pitts, was one of his best friends. “I’ve known him since first grade and he’s been like a brother since then.”

“He was always just a really good friend, really good guy,” said Pitts.

The large group shared stories in the Kamiak parking lot while passing lit candles to one another.  “It feels really good to have a community to be connected to,” said Manko. “I thank God for that, because not a lot of places have that.”

Another vigil is planned for Sunday night at 7:30 PM at the LDS church on Harbor Point Boulevard in Mukilteo.