STUDENT OPENS FIRE IN CALIFORNIA, KILLS 2
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A student pulled a gun from his backpack and opened fire at a Southern California high school Thursday, killing two students and wounding three others before shooting himself in the head on his 16th birthday, authorities said.
The attacker was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said, and investigators offered no immediate motive.
The gunfire began around 7:30 a.m. at Saugus High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita. Authorities estimated that the suspect took just 16 seconds to pull out the weapon, shoot five classmates and turn the gun on himself.
At the time, students were “milling around” and greeting each other in an outdoor quad area, sheriff’s homicide Capt. Kent Wegener said. Surveillance video showed the shooter standing still while “everyone is active around him.”
“He just fires from where he is. He doesn’t chase anybody. He doesn’t move,” Wegener said.
The suspect appeared to fire at whoever was in front of him. He had no known connection to those he shot, Wegener said.
Video showed the last thing the assailant did was shoot himself with the final bullet in the .45-caliber handgun, Wegener said. The weapon was empty when it was recovered.
A 16-year-old girl and a 14-yearold boy died.
Two girls, ages 14 and 15, were each in good condition after being treated for gunshot wounds, according to Patricia Aidem, a spokeswoman for Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.
A 14-year-old boy was treated and released from another hospital, authorities said.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the shooter was a student at the school but did not identify him.
The sheriff said a biography on an Instagram account believed to belong to the teen contained the posting: “Saugus, have fun at school tomorrow.”
The message was discovered Thursday morning after the shooting. It was unclear when it was made and by whom, the sheriff said.
It was later removed, and investigators do not know who made the change, Wegener said.
“At this point in time, we have no indication of motivation or ideology,” said Paul Delacourt, agent in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.
Fellow students and a neighbor say he was a Boy Scout who was smart, quiet and gave no indication he would become violent. One girl who knew him for years said he wasn’t bullied and had a girlfriend.
Kyra Stapp, 17, was watching a documentary in class when she heard two gunshots. Panicked students ran in and reported the shooting.
Stapp’s class and others were herded into a teacher break room where they locked the door and turned off the lights.
Kyra texted her mother and tried not make any noise. They exchanged messages as sirens screamed and helicopters and deputies carrying rifles and shotguns swarmed the campus. Then Kyra fell silent while officers escorted students out.
“She’s been texting me and all of a sudden she’s not,” Tracy Stapp said. “That was like the worst 10 minutes of my life, I swear.”