Gunman, 16, in Calif. shooting dies a day after school attack
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — Investigators said Friday they have yet to find a diary, manifesto or note that would explain why a boy killed two people outside his Southern California high school on his 16th birthday.
The gunman, Nathaniel Tennosuke Berhow, fired the final bullet into his own head. He died Friday afternoon at a hospital with his mother present, authorities said.
After more than 40 interviews and evaluation of evidence, no motive has been established in the Thursday morning shooting at Saugus High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita, said sheriff’s homicide Capt. Kent Wegener.
Authorities said they have no indication the boy was acting on behalf of any group or ideology.
The teenager opened fire seemingly at random around 7:30 a.m. in the center of the quad and authorities estimated that he took just 16 seconds to pull out the weapon, shoot five classmates and then himself in an attack that was recorded on security video.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva identified one of the deceased as Gracie Muehlberger, 15. The other student who died was Dominic Blackwell, 14.
The other victims have not been identified.
Doctors said that two girls, ages 14 and 15, who were both shot in the torso, should be released from the hospital over the weekend.
A 14-year-old boy was treated and released from another hospital, authorities said.
Police said it was evident the teen planned the attack by the way the boy used the weapon and counted his rounds. An empty .45-caliber pistol was recovered at the scene by police. The origin of the gun was being investigated.
People who knew the gunman described him as a quiet, smart kid who they’d never expect to turn violent.
One fellow junior at Saugus High School said the suspect was a Boy Scout who she relied on to study for advanced placement European history. A student in his physics class said he seemed like “one of those normal kids.”
A next-door neighbor who grew up with him said he kept to himself but was never threatening.
The boy lived with his mother in a modest home on a leafy street in Santa Clarita, a Los Angeles suburb of about 210,000 people known for good schools, safe streets and relatively affordable housing.
His father died two years ago. Two years before that, the father had been arrested amid a domestic dispute with the boy’s mother.
“A quiet, to-himself kid,” said Ryan McCracken, 20, a next-door neighbor. WhenMcCracken was younger, he said they played together.
Brooke Risley, a junior at Saugus High, said she had known the boy since elementary school and saw him Wednesday in engineering class. Last year, they were paired on engineering projects and sometimes he came to her house.
She couldn’t recall anything indicating he might be violent.