Teen in custody after Los Angeles-area school shooting leaves 3 dead, sheriff says
Three teenagers have died and several others are in critical condition following a shooting Thursday morning at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, near Los Angeles, sheriff’s officials say.
At a press conference Thursday, sheriff’s Capt. Kent Wegener described a video of the school quad that showed a teenage boy pull a .45-caliber handgun from a backpack, shoot five other teens and then shoot himself in the head.
A 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy have died., KCBS reported. A second 14-year-old boy has also died, KTTV reported later in the afternoon.
Two girls, ages 14 and 15, also were wounded, Wegener said.
The accused shooter is a 16-year-old boy whose birthday is today. He has been hospitalized in grave condition, Wegener said. Authorities do not believe any others were involved in the shooting. McClatchy news group has chosen not to name the suspected shooter.
“The threat has been eliminated,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in an earlier live phone call to KCBS
Villanueva described an “avalanche” of 911 calls after the shooting to the station, adding that some off-duty sheriff’s personnel had been dropping their children off at the campus at the time.
Teens hid in closets
Authorities received reports of a shooting at the campus just before 8 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Times.
“I am terrified for everyone at Saugus High School,” wrote one woman on Twitter. “It’s 10 minutes from my home. I have good friends that go to school there, they are twins. Max got walked to the nearby park. Madison saw the shooting and ran to a room with no lock, she (barricaded) herself in.”
“All of a sudden we hear this distinctive sound outside, so my teacher quickly sprang to his feet,” said student Mason Peters, KCBS reported. “Got up, locked the door, (he) asked one of the students to get the keys. So we reinforced it. Turned off all the lights. Then we got a bunch of desks and stuff and reinforced the doors. And then we all stayed hidden.”
“My friends who are still stuck in school, they’re hiding in closets,” one teenager at the school said, according to CNN.
“It was one and then four quick ones, so bang, and then bang, bang, bang, bang,” another said, according to the network.
Parent Brian Skiba said his daughter fled at the sound of gunfire, KCBS reported.
“She heard the shots as well, she was in the quad where it started, and ran to the band room and locked the door behind her and told everybody to get down,” Skiba said, according to the network.
One injured student was found in the school choir room, KCBS reported.
Lockdowns ordered
The city of Santa Clarita, which is about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, reported that a reunification point for students and parents had been established at Central Park.
All schools in the William S. Hart District have been locked down, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Reaction floods in
Reaction to reports of the shooting poured in from across the United States.
The shooting took place as the U.S. Senate debated proposed legislation on gun show sales. The proposal was rejected.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Teen in custody after Los Angeles-area school shooting leaves 3 dead, sheriff says."