SoCal high school mass shooting

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At least six people were injured during a shooting at a Southern California high school Thursday morning, authorities said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said on Twitter that deputies responded to Saugus High School in the city of Santa Clarita, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The department said a male suspect in black clothing was seen at the location.

It was not immediately clear if the victims suffered gunshot wounds or other injuries, said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Christopher Thomas.

Saugus High School and other schools in the area were locked down.

Television images showed sheriff’s deputies swarming the school and several people being moved on gurneys.

Lines of students were escorted away from the school by armed deputie

At least six people were shot, one fatally, Thursday morning on the campus of Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, prompting a massive response from sheriff's deputies and paramedics, authorities said.

In a tweet, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the suspected shooter was "in custody and being treated at a local hospital."

A Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson confirmed firefighters responded to the school shooting before 8 a.m. at the school at 21900 Centurion Way. One of the victims was struck in the stomach.

Villanueva told ABC7 that the suspect was a student at Saugus High School.

From CNN's Cheri Mossburg
A second victim of the shooting at Saugus High School died moments ago, Sheriff Alex Villanueva just announced.

The victim was described as a 14-year-old boy.


Captain Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department gave more details about the shooting at Saugus High School at a press conference today.

He said that the suspect's girlfriend and mother are currently talking to police.

Detectives are reviewing a video showing the moment the suspect pulled a handgun from his backpack and shot five people, according to Capt. Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The suspect then shot himself in the head, Wegener said
The suspect remains in grave condition with a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities are working with the FBI to preserve any cell phone video that recorded the shooting, he said.

It was the shooting suspect's birthday today, according to Capt. Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

And so it begins again.

I was just thinking it had been a while since I heard of a mass shooting and/or someone getting arrested for making threats of committing a mass shootings.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva told the media that when authorities retrieved the gun used in the shooting, a .45 caliber handgun, it was empty.

Officials said that surveillance footage from the shooting showed the suspect remove the gun from his backpack before shooting at five students. The video then shows the suspect shooting himself in the head. The entire shooting, which occurred in a crowded quad area, lasted 16 seconds, authorities said. Students were headed to first-period classes at 7:30 a.m., the sheriff’s office said.

The house, on Sycamore Creek Drive, is located a few miles away from the high school. CBS Los Angeles reports that Berhow lived at the home with his family. Local TV cameras showed sheriff’s deputies as well as ATF and FBI investigator on the scene at the home.

Police spent several hours at the home searching for evidence. Local authorities are being assisted in the investigation by the FBI.

Nathan Berhow’s father, Mark, died on December 5, 2017. An online obituary for Mark Berhow says that he was a native of Lancaster, California, 45 miles east of Santa Clarita, and that he died while living in Valencia, California. He was 55 years old. Photos on the obituary page show Mark Berhow with various hunting rifles.

Police have not said who owned the semi-automatic handgun or how Berhow obtained it. Berhow’s friend, identified only as Ryan, told KTLA-TV, “His dad used to make bullets, so I’d assume he had bullets and stuff like that.”

Mark Berhow’s obituary names his wife as Mami Matasuura, and his children as Samantha and Nathaniel. A Facebook tribute to Mark Berhow says that Mami Matasuura had family flying from Japan for the funeral. The Los Angeles Times reports that Berhow died following a heart attack. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office told The New York Post, a “history of chronic alcoholism” contributed to Mark Berhow’s death.

A neighbor, Jared Axen, told KTLA-TV, “From what I understand, the suspect had been the one who had found his father’s body inside the house.

Axen added, “I’ve known the whole family my whole life. It’s just – it’s so surprising. You hear about things like this in the news, you don’t expect it to be your own community. He was a very quiet person, a kind person. He was respectful, how he talked about others. It could be just the relationship that he and I had together but, you know, I just wish he was willing to say that he needed some help.”

Online records show that Mark Berhow and his wife began divorce proceedings in August 2016. Matasuura is referred to as the “petitioner” in those documents, meaning she filed for divorce. Records show that Matasuura was also filing for custody. Mark Berhow was also arrested in 2015 in a domestic assault involving his wife, but the charges were later dropped, records show.

Online records show that Matasuura worked for the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, LACERA. In October 2017, Matasuura received a commendation for her job performance.

Nate Berhow’s girlfriend and mother are being questioned by authorities, reports NBC Los Angeles. Police said they have not been called to Berhow’s home recently or had any interactions with him.

A motive for the shooting has not been established. “That’s going to take us a while to go through,” Sheriff Villanueva said of the investigation into what led to the shooting. The sheriff’s office said they have also not determined any connection between Berhow and the victims, other than them being students at Saugus High School together.

Delacourt later added, “We have no reason to believe that the subject was acting on behalf of any other group or any ideology. I have no reason to believe there is any threat or any co-conspirators at this time.”

Speaking to Fox Los Angeles, a student named Maxwell said that Berhow hadn’t been “acting like himself” in the days leading up to the shooting. Maxwell said, “As far as I could tell from the recent days that I’ve seen him, he was looking kind of down and I guess just kind of depressed about something. I didn’t really ask him what it was that he was depressed about, but from what I could tell he was different. He wasn’t acting like himself.”

Nathaniel Berhow was listed as taking part in a track meet in Santa Clarita where he represented Saugus High School. The meet was held in Central Park on September 19.

The Los Angeles Times cited friends in referring to the suspect as a “quiet kid.”

He was in the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts, according to his father’s obituary and posts on social media by those in his Boy Scout troop.

Berhow’s neighbor, Jared Axen, told KTLA-TV, “I can’t think of any red flags in our conversation, when he would think of handling his hurt in this manner. He grew up with his father who was a hunter, and this was a normal activity for him. He grew up around firearms, it wasn’t a mystery, he knew how to use it and understood how it worked, he was responsible. He came off as a very responsible person.”

Axen added, “On the outside they were very loving, (his mother) worked hard to make sure the children had a future. At the same time, sometimes you don’t realize how much people love you until you go through these changes. He is a quiet person, a kind person, he was respectful how he talked to others. I wish I could just hug him, there is nothing I would really be able to say. … I wish I could just give him a hug.”

Aidan Soto, a fellow Boy Scout and runner, told the Los Angeles Times, “I’m bewildered and looking for answers — the question as to why all this would happen. So many questions no one has the answers to.”

According to the sheriff’s office, “ALL Hart District Schools will be closed Friday, Nov. 15, out of respect for victims, families and to allow students, staff to process feelings. District counselors will be available tonight 5-7 p.m. at Santa Clarita Activities Center, 20880 Centre Pointe Pkwy.”

Saugus High School is expected to be a crime scene for several days.

Solution - even simpler - ban gun ownership - problem solved - end of mass shootings

Just like banning alcohol ended drinking, right?

Who wants to ban alcohol? I don't

Who wants to ban alcohol? I don't