2019 Saugus High School shooting

Coordinates: 34°26′31″N 118°31′06″W / 34.442°N 118.5184°W / 34.442; -118.5184
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Daniel Mietchen (talk | contribs) at 11:52, 16 November 2019 (typo fix). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

34°26′31″N 118°31′06″W / 34.442°N 118.5184°W / 34.442; -118.5184

2019 Saugus High School shooting
Location of the shooting in California.
Location of the shooting in California.
Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita (California)
LocationSanta Clarita, California, U.S.
DateNovember 14, 2019
7:38 a.m. (PST, UTC−8)
TargetStudents at Saugus High School
Attack type
School shooting; Mass shooting; Murder–suicide
Weapons.45 caliber handgun
Deaths3 (including the perpetrator)[1]
Injured3[1][2]
PerpetratorNathaniel Tennosuke Berhow

The Saugus High School shooting was a school shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California on November 14, 2019. Three people (including the perpetrator) were killed, and three more were injured.[1][2]

School

Per the school district website, all schools in the district have a resource officer assigned to the campus and all schools have fencing and supervisors monitoring those who enter and exit the campus. Saugus High School has fencing and at least a dozen security cameras but no metal detectors. The gates for the school are routinely locked during instructional time and would only be opened for students to leave for lunch or to leave school at the end of the day, with visitors being required to sign in and out of the school.[3] The schools are also required to hold at least two lockdown drills per year, and utilize a "Text-a-Tip" hotline for students to report suspicious behavior. Each school in the district also has a "Safe Schools Ambassador" who is a student trained to work within their peer groups to prevent bullying, teasing and violence on campuses.[4]

Students at the school had also participated in creating an active shooter training video for a class project earlier in the year. Many students near the perpetrator during the shooting have credited this project in helping them know what to do.[4]

Shooting

The shooting began at 7:38 a.m., before the beginning of classes.[5]

The perpetrator reportedly pulled a .45 caliber handgun from his backpack and fired on fellow students in the school's quad.[6] Surveillance footage documented the perpetrators actions as he fired one round before the pistol apparently jammed, causing him to take time to fix the gun. He then continued to fire on students, striking an additional four people.[3] One of the students was struck in the stomach.[7] A student was found at the school's choir room,[8] and another was struck outside the school.[9] Shortly after the attack on his classmates, the perpetrator turned the semi-automatic pistol on himself and fired a fatal shot.[10] The shooting lasted sixteen seconds.[11] A handgun was located outside the area of the shooting.[2]

Three off-duty police officers had just dropped off relatives at the school and became the first responders on the scene: a detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and police officers from Inglewood and Los Angeles.[12] They were joined within a minute by uniformed deputies on duty from the sheriff's station in Santa Clarita, as well as a sheriff's deputy who works at the school as the school resource officer.[12] The Los Angeles County Fire Department confirmed firefighters responded to the shooting before 8 a.m.[7] Santa Clarita, as a contract city, uses county sheriff and fire services in lieu of operating its own police and fire departments.[13]

Victims

Two students, 15-year-old Gracie Anne Muehlberger and 14-year-old Dominic Blackwell, were killed.[1]

Two girls, aged 15 and 14, and a boy, aged 14, were injured.[14] Four students were hospitalized at the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, three in critical condition.[15] Two were transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.[16] Aside from all being students of Saugus High School, there is no known connection between the gunman and the teens shot.[17]

Perpetrator

The perpetrator was identified as Nathaniel Tennosuke Berhow (November 14, 2003 – November 15, 2019), a student at the school,[18][19] who turned 16 on the day of the shooting.[5][20] He shot himself in the head with his last bullet and died the following day.[21] One student said Berhow was a quiet, normal student who ran cross country and was a Boy Scout.[22]

Investigation

The Los Angeles County Sheriff said his office was investigating reports of social media postings that could have links to the suspect. In a separate news conference, he said a possibly associated pseudonymous Instagram account posted "Saugus, have fun at school tomorrow." The post was deleted after news of the shooting.[23] It was subsequently determined that the account did not belong to Berhow, and Instagram has shut it down.[22] Officers were also investigating two text messages in which threats had been made against the school, but they were deemed to have "no nexus" to the shooting.[4]

Aftermath

Parents of students commended the school’s active shooter drills and response and told reporters that the school’s alert system kept them regularly updated about the incident. The students told reporters they knew exactly what to do based on drills, with one student stating; "We weren't saying 'Oh, we're going to die'. We were like, 'How crazy is this happening to us'." Other students discussed the potential identity of the shooter online through social media, but policed the information and refused to spread incorrect information.[24]

Nearby schools were placed on lockdown throughout the morning.[5]

Members of the community worked to offer emergency mental health support, grief counseling, prayer services or service dedications, and vigils to honor the victims and survivors.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Santa Clarita shooting: 2 teens killed; attack came on suspect's birthday, officials say". The Los Angeles Times. November 14, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Santa Clarita Shooting Updates: Several Injured at High School". The New York Times. November 14, 2019. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b Lam, Kristin (November 15, 2019). "Santa Clarita shooting: What we know about the Saugus High School suspected gunman, victims". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 15, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b c Hauck, Grace (November 14, 2019). "Santa Clarita students made an active shooter video. Two months later, they took shelter in fear". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 15, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b c "Santa Clarita: at least one dead and multiple hurt in high school shooting, authorities say". The Guardian. November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  6. ^ "California school shooting: Gunman revealed as Nathaniel Berhow who opened fire on his 16th birthday". Newshub. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "5 people shot at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, prompting massive police response: WATCH LIVE". ABC News. November 14, 2019.
  8. ^ "Multiple people injured in shooting at California high school". CNBC. November 14, 2019.
  9. ^ CBS (November 14, 2019). "BREAKING UPDATE: At least one person has been struck by gunfire in a shooting outside Saugus High School in Santa Clarita. Authorities conducted a search for a male suspect in black clothing, later locating that subject". Twitter.
  10. ^ "Saugus High School shooter named as Nathaniel Berhow, 16". Metro. November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "Saugus High shooter opened fire on crowded quad in 16-second attack that left 2 dead, 3 wounded, sheriff says". MSN. November 14, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Day, Brian (November 14, 2019). "Off-Duty Officers Were 1st on Scene of Saugus School Shooting". KTLA 5 News. Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  13. ^ Lavery, Kevin (1999). Smart Contracting for Local Government Services: Processes and Experience. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. p. 113. ISBN 9780275964283.
  14. ^ "California school shooting: Santa Clarita attack leaves two dead". Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  15. ^ "CBS News on Twitter". Twitter. November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  16. ^ Ana Cabrera (November 14, 2019). "MORE: two additional students from Saugus High School were transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, California, CNN has learned". Twitter.
  17. ^ By Elisha Fieldstadt and Dennis Romero Nov. 15, 2019 NBC News
  18. ^ de Puy Kamp, Majlie; Broder, Noah; Glover, Scott (November 15, 2019). "A community in shock describes suspect they know". CNN. Retrieved November 15, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ "California school shooting: Deadly shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita today - live updates". CBS. November 14, 2019.
  20. ^ "School shooting reported in Santa Clarita". CNN. November 14, 2019.
  21. ^ James, Michael (November 15, 2019). "Teen gunman who killed two in shooting rampage at California high school dies in hospital". USA Today. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  22. ^ a b Lam, Kristin (November 15, 2019). "Santa Clarita shooting: What we know about the Saugus High School suspected gunman, victims". USA Today. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  23. ^ Ortiz, John Bacon, Chris Woodyard, Grace Hauck and Jorge L. "A day of 'horror' at Santa Clarita high school: 2 dead after student shoots 5, then himself". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 15, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Cowan, Jill; Kang, Inyoung (November 15, 2019). "Mourning After the Saugus High School Shooting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  25. ^ Shields, Vivianna (November 14, 2019). "Events following Saugus Shooting". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved November 15, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2019_Saugus_High_School_shooting&oldid=926441638"