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Santa Clarita High School Shooting: 6 Facts You Need To Know

Columbine.

Virginia Tech.

Sandy Hook.

You can now add Santa Clarita to the growing list of deadly school shootings in America.

On the morning of November 14, 2019, Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, was business as usual. Parents were dropping off their kids, and everyone thought the day would be just like any other day. Then, in the blink of an eye, the aura of normalcy and safety that everybody felt evaporated. The cracking retort of a .45 caliber pistol from within the school broke the veil.

And then all hell broke loose.

It only took the gunman 16 seconds to shoot five students, killing two and wounding three others. He then turned the gun on himself and used the last bullet to try and end it all.

Here are several facts we know so far.

What Happened?

At around 7:30 AM in Saugus High School, the gunman pulled a firearm out of his backpack and started shooting people. He was able to hit five students in the school’s quad using a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol. It only took the gunman 16 seconds to shoot five students, killing two and wounding three others. He then put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Police found no suicide note, no manifesto, and no motive as of this writing.

The initial assumption was that the shooter escaped, leaving six victims in his wake. Authorities conducted a rapid search and capture plan to apprehend the suspect. However, surveillance footage from the school showed that one of the victims was actually the gunman. The video also showed that the gun jammed after the first shot, but the shooter was very familiar with the weapon and quickly fixed it. There were no specific targets, and it appeared the shooter fired at random.

Law enforcement couldn’t find any links between the shooter and his victims, and the suspect didn’t show up on California arrest records. Saugus and the whole school district went on lockdown.

The Victims

The five victims of the Santa Clarita shooting were students. They were all taken to nearby hospitals Providence Holy Cross Medical Center and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. Unfortunately, two of the victims succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment.

The coroner identified the deceased as:

  • Dominic Blackwell, aged 14. A fun-loving, bright, and caring big brother with a huge heart and a goofy laugh.
  • Gracie Anne Muehlberger, aged 15. Vivacious, lively, and strong, “sweet pea” was Cinderella to her parents and their best friend.

The injured:

  • Addison Koegle, F, 14-years old.
  • Mia Paige-Tretta, F, 15-years old.
  • Additional Victim (undisclosed), M, 14-years old.

School Safety Measures

According to the school district website, there is always a resource officer assigned to each campus. The schools also have adequate fencing and supervisors who monitor people entering and leaving. Locking the gates during instructional time is standard procedure and only opened at the end of the day. All visitors have to check-in at the office. A fence went around Saugus High, and there over a dozen security cameras installed, but no metal detector at the gates.

Warning Signs Before the Shooting

Authorities are trying to identify if the gunman had any links to the cryptic Instagram account that surfaced after the shooting. The post read, “Saugus, have fun at school tomorrow,” but it originated from another country. Authorities believe the account had nothing to do with the shooter. Instagram shut down the account for violating its policies and released a statement that it didn’t belong to the gunman. There remains to be no motive for the shooting, and the shooter wasn’t acting on any ideology.

The Weapon

Authorities said that the weapon used for the Santa Clarita shooting could be a .45-caliber, 1911 “ghost gun.” The firearm had a partially-built receiver and didn’t have a serial number. Ghost guns are more of a DIY type of weapon that can be assembled at home using 3D-printed parts.

Authorities are still trying to learn how the 16-year old shooter was able to get his hands on this type of weapon since he was under 21. Recovered from the shooter’s home were several firearms registered to the shooter’s father, an avid hunter. However, some of the guns found at the house didn’t belong to the father and weren’t registered.

The Shooter

Authorities identified the suspect as Nathaniel Tennosuke Berhow, also a student at Saugus High. Neighbors and classmates found him to be respectful, responsible, and pleasant but quiet. He was a Boy Scout and member of the school’s cross-country running team. People close to the suspect said that he was deeply affected by the passing of his father, who died of a heart attack two years ago.

The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at roughly 3:30 that same day.

It was his 16th birthday.

The Santa Clarita incident is the 30th school shooting this year, and the 517th in the country since people started recording it in 1840. The toll: 594 dead and 970 injured.

BIO: Ben is a Chief Executive Officer at InfoTracer who takes a wide view from whole system. He authors guides on entire security posture, both physical and cyber. Enjoys sharing the best practices and does it the right way!


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Santa Clarita High School Shooting: 6 Facts You Need To Know

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