Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Two killed in shooting at school
Suspect, 16, among four wounded
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A 16-year-old student is accused of opening fire on classmates at a high school north of Los Angeles on Thursday morning, striking five people before turning the gun on himself. Two students, a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, died at a hospital.
The suspect in the attack that unfolded at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita in front of surveillance cameras survived his self-inflicted gunshot wound and was in grave condition at a hospital, authorities said at a news conference shortly before noon PST. Police said Thursday was the suspect’s birthday.
The shooting victims who survived were a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. The shooting occurred in the quad of the school, a popular outdoor gathering spot for students, a place with trees and picnic tables.
“We need to say ‘no more.’ This is a tragic event that happens too frequently,” said Capt. Robert Lewis of the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s station. “When are we going to come together as a community … to say ‘no more’?”
Deputy Armando Viera of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office said the shooting was reported at 7:38 a.m. PST at Saugus High. When authorities arrived, they found six students with gunshot wounds and later learned that the suspect was among them.
They also found a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol at the scene. There were no more rounds in it.
Police said surveillance video showed the gunman, dressed in black, pull the gun from his backpack, shoot students and then shoot himself in the head.
Four people were taken to Henry Mayo Hospital in Valencia, including the boy and girl who died. The two other students taken there were being treated Thursday afternoon, officials said. One was in critical condition and the other was in good condition.
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center received two patients related to the shooting, both girls, according to a hospital spokeswoman. The spokeswoman said one girl was in fair condition and the other in good condition and that both were talking when they arrived.
The suspect was identified through witness statements and school security footage, law enforcement officials said. The suspect’s mother and girlfriend were being interviewed by authorities.
At an early evening news conference Thursday, authorities said just 16 seconds passed from the time the suspect drew his gun and when he shot himself. They said the shooting was limited to the quad area, and they had no information about a connection between the suspect and the victims.
“At this point we have no indication of any motivation or ideology,” Paul Delacourt with the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office said Thursday afternoon.
The scene at the high school was chaotic. Within minutes after the shooting, armed law enforcement officials escorted lines of teenagers, with their arms raised, out of the building. Many of the injured were being treated in a grassy area on the campus before being placed on gurneys and taken to ambulances in the school’s parking lot.
Some students remained locked in classrooms for more than an hour as authorities searched for the shooter. Eventually, they were led off the campus by deputies. Some were in tears. As they walked, one student asked, “What kind of a world is this?”
“You hear about it all the time, and it’s finally [happened] at home,” parent Tony Barrett said. “You always see it on the news and don’t think it’ll happen to you.”
Andrei Mojica, 17, was in his Advanced Placement government class going over a worksheet when his teacher went outside and saw people running. No one in class panicked until somebody opened the door and said there was a shooter on campus.
In an instant, the class of about 30 was up and barricading the doors with desks and tables. They’d practiced this before, but “there was just something different about it from a simple drill to real life,” he said.
Ryan Payad, a 14-year-old freshman, was across the street from the campus when he heard shots — and then heard screams. He turned and ran, joining students fleeing the campus. He happened upon his friend Adolfo Ramirez, and the two spent time at Adolfo’s house, reeling from what had transpired that morning.
“I’m just shocked right now,” Ryan said.
President Donald Trump was monitoring the situation, according to a White House spokesman.
The shooting came two months after six students at the high school were detained on felony criminal charges after authorities were alerted to threats that the teenagers had made online, according to the sheriff’s office. It’s unclear whether those threats were connected to Thursday’s shooting. Information for this article was contributed by Mia Nakaji Monnier, Moriah Balingit, Katie Mettler, Mark Berman, Reis Thebault and John Woodrow Cox of The Washington Post; and by Hannah Fry, Marisa Gerber, Brittny Mejia, James Queally, Richard Winton, Sarah Parvini, Colleen Shalby, Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, Leila Miller and Ruben Vives of the Los Angeles Times.