USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Horror’ at school: 2 students dead
Shooting stuns California town; suspect wounded
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Two people were killed and four injured – including the gunman – in a shooting rampage Thursday at a high school, authorities in Los Angeles County said.
The suspect, a student at Saugus High School, was taken into custody and treated at a hospital, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. He described the suspect as a 16- year- old Asian male whose birthday was Thursday. The student was in “grave” condition, he said.
The gunman shot five students in the school’s quad area with a .45- caliber semiautomatic weapon, then shot himself in the head, said Capt. Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s Department. He said there were no more bullets in the weapon when the suspect stopped shooting.
A female student, 16, and a male student, 14, died at a hospital, officials said. A 14- year- old boy and two girls – 14 and 15 – were injured, along with the suspect.
Wegener said reports of a possible online threat before the attack are being investigated.
“I know there are rumors out there about social media posts and different videos that may have been posted from this teen,” Wegener said. “We will be looking into that. At this point, I don’t have any information about that.”
The shooting took place shortly after 7: 30 a. m. at the 2,500- student school about 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles in the town that is home to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Video from the scene showed law enforcement officials swarming the area around the school and victims being wheeled on gurneys to waiting ambulances.
The White House said President
“We were right there. We were scared out of our mind.”
Sophomore Elijah Mims
Donald Trump was monitoring events. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted support for the victims, their loved ones and first responders working to “bring this horror to an end.”
“The shocking incident at a high school in Santa Clarita is tragic and heartbreaking,” he said.
Sophomore Elijah Mims, 15, told USA TODAY in a phone interview that he was about 20 feet away from a tall person in black clothes when he began shooting.
“We were right there. We were scared out of our mind,” he said. “We were lucky to have not been shot in that moment. ... We never thought anything would occur in a suburb like Santa Clarita. It’s such a lovely place.”
Mims, who was born and raised in Santa Clarita, said he and friends were relaxing on the quad when they heard the first gunshot.
“Everyone had turned around, thinking someone was being funny and popping a balloon. Then there were three more gunshots, and everybody started running,” Mims said.
Mims said he and his friends ran into an empty classroom, where they took shelter with 30 to 40 other students for about 20 minutes.
“We had girls all huddling around each other. We were trying to stay quiet,” Mims said.
“I told my family what happened, but I told them not to call me because I didn’t want anything ringing or buzzing to go off.”
Troy Grant, 15, a 10th- grader at the school, said he also heard what sounded like balloons popping.
“Then I heard it multiple times and saw a herd of students running, so I then knew it was a shooting,” Grant wrote to USA TODAY on Facebook. “I don’t know what to feel right now, just hoping everyone’s safe and OK.”
Lines of students walked away from the school under police direction. Students were taken to school and city buses to drive them a half- mile to where they could be reunited with parents.
Charlotte Jinkins, 36, said she had dropped off her son Joseph, 14, a freshman, at around 7: 30 a. m. when she saw a large group of students running toward a church at the east end of Centurion Way.
“I heard a group of kids saying ‘ They are shooting!’ ” as sheriff ’ s deputies began to arrive. “It all happened so quick.”
Her son fled to a classroom and they were reunited a short time later.
George Atilano said his daughter, Raquel, 14, a trombonist, texted him that she was trapped in the band room. He said the band director went outside to confirm that there was a shooter, then went back in and found places where students could be kept out of sight, including an office and library.
“He rounded kids up and shoved them in there,” Atilano said.
The school was locked down, along with all schools in the William S. Hart district.
The public was urged to stay away from the area.
Former congresswoman Katie Hill, who resigned her seat this month, graduated from Saugus High School in 2004. She told USA TODAY she was “really, really concerned” for the students.
“We had countless interns and volunteers on the campaign that were current and former Saugus students,” she said. “We were really, really terrified of who we might know that has been impacted.”