On 16th birthday, California student opens fire at his high school, killing two

[webfact]

On 16th birthday, California student opens fire at his high school, killing two

By Steve Gorman

 

Police and emergency vehicles on the scene of a shooting at Saugus high school in Santa Clarita, California, U.S., November 14, 2019 in this screenshot taken from video footage courtesy of NBCLA. NBCLA via REUTERS

 

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (Reuters) - A Southern California high school student killed two classmates and wounded three others on Thursday, pulling a .45 calibre semiautomatic handgun from his backpack and emptying it in a matter of seconds as the school day began.

 

He saved the last bullet for himself. It was his 16th birthday.

 

The teenaged gunman, whose name was not provided by police, survived the self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head but was in grave condition in hospital, law enforcement officials said.

 

Captain Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told reporters the entire incident, captured on videotape, took 16 seconds as the young man stood in one spot and fired on one student after another.

 

"From right where he was standing, he doesn't chase anybody, he fires from where he is until he shoots himself," Wegener said.

 

The scene at Saugus High School was reminiscent of other mass shootings at U.S. schools, including Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a former student with an assault gun killed 17 people on Feb. 14, 2018.

 

A 16-year-old student dressed in black opened fire inside a Santa Clarita high school, Thursday, killing at least two people, wounding three and injuring himself, according to police. Jillian Kitchener has more.

 

It was the 85th incidence of gunfire at a school this year, according to Everytown, a gun control advocacy group. It seems sure to reignite a debate over gun control in the 2020 presidential election.

 

Wegener confirmed the suspect posted a message on his Instagram account before the shooting that said: “Saugus have fun at school tomorrow.” The post was later taken down.

 

The two slain students were a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. Two other girls, aged 14 and 15, were wounded, as was a 14-year old boy, Wegener said.

 

MOTIVE UNKNOWN

Investigators said they did not yet know what led the student to open fire at the school 40 miles (65 km) north of Los Angeles.

 

Police said the accused shooter had acted alone. Investigators descended on his family home, blocking off the street. They found no further danger there.

 

A next-door neighbour, registered nurse Jared Axen, said the suspect had seemed introverted, quiet and sad, possibly despondent over the loss of his father from a heart attack in December 2017.

 

Axen, 33, said it was the boy who found his father deceased, not long after the older man had regained his sobriety and gotten his life "back on track" after years of struggling with alcohol abuse.

 

"I would say he (the boy) was hurting and couldn’t ask for help," Axen said of the suspect, who was a track athlete at the school, involved in Boy Scouts and liked the outdoors, going on hunting trips with his father.

 

He was of mixed race, born to Japanese-born mother and white father, with an older sister who became a nurse and moved away.

 

"I would ask him how school was ... he would never bring up concerns of bullying or being a loner there," Axen said.

 

There was no immediate word on where the teen gunman obtained the weapon.

 

"How do we come out of tragedy? We need to say 'No more!' This is a tragic event. It happens too frequently," said Captain Robert Lewis of Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station, striking an emotional note in an otherwise sombre news conference.

 

LATEST SCHOOL SHOOTING

A 16-year-old Saugus High School junior named Pamela, who spoke to Reuters on condition that she not give her last name, said she was in her first-period choir class when some girls ran into the room and said there was a shooting going on.

 

"Our teacher immediately grabbed a fire extinguisher and got us into her office and locked the door," Pamela said, adding that one of the girls had been shot in the shoulder.

 

Taylor Hardges reported seeing people running in the hallways shouting "Run!" She raced into a classroom, where a teacher barricaded the room.

 

"We've had drills. It doesn't prepare you for the real thing," she said after reuniting with her father at a designated spot in Santa Clarita's Central Park.

 

Her father, Terrence Hardges, said he felt his heart race after Taylor texted him from inside the classroom with the message: "I love you. I'm pinned in a room. We're locked in."

 

It is the second tragedy in just over two weeks for Santa Clarita, a city of around 210,000 in a large brush-covered valley. The Tick Fire forced 50,000 people to evacuate in the valley and closed schools in the area, including Saugus. Central Park, the reunifcation point for the shootings, was the command control centre for the wildfire.

 

(Reporting by Steve Gorman and Alan Devall in Santa Clarita; Additional reporting by Maria Caspani, Gabriella Borter and Barbara Goldberg in New York City, Brad Brooks in Austin, Texas and Dan Whitcomb in Culver City; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Bill Tarrant and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-15

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[Matzzon]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

He saved the last bullet for himself. It was his 16th birthday.

Now the world leader in school shootings and mass shootings by far, even got 16 year olds that are salubrating their birthdays with mass murder and suicide. As sad as it might be, we have to look at the big picture. Is this really the country we want to have messing with all other countries businesses? Sticking their nose into everything, when they can´t take care of their own.

[toofarnorth]

' We've had drills but doesn't prepare you for the real thing ' she said.  How dreadful  ,kids going to school and wondering if their day will end in bloodshed .  Sitting here thinking of more to add , but can't.

[samsensam]

6 minutes ago, toofarnorth said:

' We've had drills but doesn't prepare you for the real thing ' she said.  How dreadful  ,kids going to school and wondering if their day will end in bloodshed .  Sitting here thinking of more to add , but can't.

 

agree, what a shocking indictment on the society. there are serious problems with knife crime in the UK but at least the government and authorities are trying to do something about it, and with some measure of success. but as with the carnage on the roads here, no one seems to care enough about the gun culture carnage in the US to do anything about it. very sad.

[lust]

1 minute ago, samsensam said:

 

agree, what a shocking indictment on the society. there are serious problems with knife crime in the UK but at least the government and authorities are trying to do something about it, and with some measure of success. but as with the carnage on the roads here, no one seems to care enough about the gun culture carnage in the US to do anything about it. very sad.

Proposals? Let’s hear them.

[Sujo]

1 hour ago, lust said:

Proposals? Let’s hear them.

Perhaps share a thought for the kids.

 

Must be very difficult for them to have to deal with this while the so called adults in govt refuse to even discuss remedies in good faith.

[justin case]

my bet is psychiatric SSRI medication, but people here love to delete a comment like this, while it has been proven that most school shooters were on anti-depressants, with side effects like SUICIDE ideation

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=SUICIDE+ideation+ssri

 

[Boon Mee]

Arm the teachers. 

Only answer... 

[PatOngo]

Americans with guns, Thai's with cars and motorbikes. There are solutions but no one wants to face them!

[Bluespunk]

30 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Arm the teachers. 

Only answer... 

No it’s not. 

[Saint Nick]

37 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Arm the teachers. 

Only answer... 

Too funny!

????

[TopDeadSenter]

3 hours ago, samsensam said:

there are serious problems with knife crime in the UK but at least the government and authorities are trying to do something about it

Censorship and prohibiting honest discussions about exactly who is doing the stabbing epidemic in the UK is hardly "doing something about it"! In fact, it just makes the problem far worse. The Americans are lucky in that their constitution guarantees their free speech. 

 Strange how many mass shooting seem to happen in California. I thought they banned assault rifles and introduced a load of strict gun laws? I'd feel safer in Texas personally.

[Happy Grumpy]

4 hours ago, Matzzon said:

Now the world leader in school shootings and mass shootings by far, even got 16 year olds that are salubrating their birthdays with mass murder and suicide. As sad as it might be, we have to look at the big picture. Is this really the country we want to have messing with all other countries businesses? Sticking their nose into everything, when they can´t take care of their own.

 

4 hours ago, toofarnorth said:

' We've had drills but doesn't prepare you for the real thing ' she said.  How dreadful  ,kids going to school and wondering if their day will end in bloodshed . 

 

Sounds kinda like the school life of the places they're bringing 'democracy' to.

 

School kids being slaughtered with military grade weapons, bringing America to a developing country near you. 

[Saint Nick]

8 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Censorship and prohibiting honest discussions about exactly who is doing the stabbing epidemic in the UK is hardly "doing something about it"! In fact, it just makes the problem far worse. The Americans are lucky in that their constitution guarantees their free speech. 

 Strange how many mass shooting seem to happen in California. I thought they banned assault rifles and introduced a load of strict gun laws? I'd feel safer in Texas personally.

Ooooohh...yeah...America- land of the free, home of the brave!

The greatest democracy on Earth...blah blah blah!

If you think it is "strange how many mass shooting seem to happen in California" because you "thought they banned assault rifles and introduced a load of strict gun laws", it shows your clear lack of understanding ...well...anything...

If you can not comprehend, that other states do absolutely zilch, zero, nill and nada for responsible gun- control and every Cleetus, Jim Bob and Larry can just stroll into any supermarket and buy a gun of almost any caliber and THEN drive INTO California and shoot someone, then I think no one can help you!

 

[Sujo]

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Arm the teachers. 

Only answer... 

Dont stop there. Teachers can go crazy. Arm all students. Compulsory ak47s for all. 

 

More guns, more safe.

 

Irony.

[just bob]

1 hour ago, Saint Nick said:

Too funny!

????

No disrespect meant, just could not resist.

[lust]

50 minutes ago, Sujo said:

Dont stop there. Teachers can go crazy. Arm all students. Compulsory ak47s for all. 

 

More guns, more safe.

 

Irony.

Yeah mate. Give the guns to the students who have no idea what to do with their impulses, raging hormones and emotions that they have no idea how to control. Screw the teachers who have pursued a career to better the nation.

 

next time think before you talk. 

[lust]

3 hours ago, Sujo said:

Perhaps share a thought for the kids.

 

Must be very difficult for them to have to deal with this while the so called adults in govt refuse to even discuss remedies in good faith.

This guy commented on how nobody cares to change gun laws. Just like 80% of the bleeding heart liberals. Won’t someone please think of the children?! So let’s hear some solutions. Nobody has any. It’s a cultural problem, not a gun problem. 
 

Blame social media, blame capitalism, blame the lack of mental health care, blame the neglecting parents, blame the retards who commit the atrocities, but don’t blame the guns.
 

There are millions of sane gun owners who have firearms without killing innocent people. 330 million Americans. Are you not surprised that these attacks don’t happen daily? 

[kingstonkid]

Remember this happened in the state with the most restrictions on fire arms.  The problem is not the legal guns it is the ones you can buy on the corner

Things are going to be worse soon because the new  legal ace just said you can not arrest gangs or call them a criminal Enterprise

 

[wwest5829]

32 minutes ago, lust said:

This guy commented on how nobody cares to change gun laws. Just like 80% of the bleeding heart liberals. Won’t someone please think of the children?! So let’s hear some solutions. Nobody has any. It’s a cultural problem, not a gun problem. 
 

Blame social media, blame capitalism, blame the lack of mental health care, blame the neglecting parents, blame the retards who commit the atrocities, but don’t blame the guns.
 

There are millions of sane gun owners who have firearms without killing innocent people. 330 million Americans. Are you not surprised that these attacks don’t happen daily? 

Nonetheless, the USA has a problem with guns and so steps need to address guns. The other issues you mention certainly can play a part, but ... access to guns is a deciding factor in comparison with other countries with the problems you mention ... without easy access to guns.

[wwest5829]

29 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

Remember this happened in the state with the most restrictions on fire arms.  The problem is not the legal guns it is the ones you can buy on the corner

Things are going to be worse soon because the new  legal ace just said you can not arrest gangs or call them a criminal Enterprise

 

I will buy you a drink if the 16 year old bought this 45 on the street?!

[olfu]

Its funny for me to read---MOTIVE  UNKNOWN---well, its open secret that there is raging civil war in US and it will not stop till we change culture which is regulated by government.

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, olfu said:

Its funny for me to read---MOTIVE  UNKNOWN---well, its open secret that there is raging civil war in US and it will not stop till we change culture which is regulated by government.

OK. I'll bite. What culture regulated by government turned this boy into a murderer? 

[quadperfect]

4 hours ago, justin case said:

my bet is psychiatric SSRI medication, but people here love to delete a comment like this, while it has been proven that most school shooters were on anti-depressants, with side effects like SUICIDE ideation

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=SUICIDE+ideation+ssri

 

I am also convinced big pharma has made america sick. All the vaccinations and drugs given to young kids. Yes ssris. They give babys antacids cause the formula gives them reflux. Its sick. Also the processed foods can mess up a young body to the extreme of suicide. At 16 there is no doubt about it mental illness is what has kids killing kids.

Guns are never going away in america. There would be a civil war that no one could win. The hatfields and mccoys.

[jany123]

7 hours ago, lust said:

Proposals? Let’s hear them.

Proposals?

 

I propose that the do nothing senate tables the latest congress bill, currently gathering dust on grim reaper McConnell desk, for starters

[jany123]

1 hour ago, lust said:

There are millions of sane gun owners who have firearms without killing innocent people. 330 million Americans. Are you not surprised that these attacks don’t happen daily? 

https://www.bradyunited.org/key-statistics

with 310 shootings per day.... I am surprised that you made this comment

[bannork]

2 hours ago, lust said:

Yeah mate. Give the guns to the students who have no idea what to do with their impulses, raging hormones and emotions that they have no idea how to control. Screw the teachers who have pursued a career to better the nation.

 

next time think before you talk. 

erm, he was extracting the urine, taking the p"ss ...

[JAG]

5 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Arm the teachers. 

Only answer... 

No, it is an utterly stupid answer, for reasons blindingly obvious to anyone who has either been a teacher or has handled firearms for real in any professional capacity - soldier or policeman. I know, I am a teacher, I was (for many years) a professional soldier.

 

Take firearms out of society. It worked in the UK and Australia. There are plenty of opportunities these days for people to indulge their onanistic fantasies without needing guns!

[lust]

28 minutes ago, jany123 said:

https://www.bradyunited.org/key-statistics

with 310 shootings per day.... I am surprised that you made this comment

Bradyunited? lol, what is this garbage? You think 310 people getting shot equates to 310 school shootings? You know how many gang bangers are shot per day selling crack on the streets?
 

Jesus, this forum is brain dead it seems.

[lust]

22 minutes ago, bannork said:

erm, he was extracting the urine, taking the p"ss ...

Well, he can have the p”ss then. I don’t need it.