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Santa Clarita Shooting: ‘No Motive or Rationale’ Discovered, Police Say Santa Clarita Shooting: ‘No Motive or Rationale’ Discovered, Police Say
(about 3 hours later)
Investigators on Friday said they had not identified a motive for the 16-year-old student who they say pulled a handgun from his backpack at school and shot five of his classmates, killing two, in Santa Clarita, Calif., before turning the gun on himself. Investigators on Friday were still struggling to understand why a 16-year-old student had pulled a handgun from his backpack at school, they say, shooting five of his classmates, killing two, in Santa Clarita, Calif., before turning the gun on himself.
“We did not find any manifesto, any diary that spelled it out, any suicide note, or any writings that will clearly identify his motives behind this assault,” Capt. Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said at a news conference on Friday. The police said they know that his mother dropped him off at school on Thursday morning. They know he pulled the gun from his backpack. They know there were more weapons inside his house. What they do not know is why he did it.
The police also identified a 15-year-old girl, Gracie Anne Muehlberger, as one of the students who died in the Thursday morning shooting. Her father said in a brief phone interview that the family was grieving. “We did not find any manifesto, any diary that spelled it out, any suicide note, or any writings which will clearly identify his motive behind this assault,” Capt. Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said at a news conference on Friday. He said that the police had conducted more than 40 interviews, but that “no motive or rationale” had been uncovered.
The gunman survived but remains in critical condition. The police say he had walked into the quad of Saugus High School just after 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, his birthday, before firing seemingly at random for 16 seconds. Sheriff Alex Villanueva of Los Angeles County said the gunman was silent as he shot the five students at Saugus High School. He seemed to have planned the attack, the sheriff said, and also seemed familiar with how to use the gun, quickly fixing a malfunction and firing all but one round before shooting himself in the head. The shooting was captured on video, and the gunman appeared to have selected his victims at random.
“It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment act,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. “It doesn’t appear he had any interaction with anyone,” Sheriff Villanueva said. “He was just standing by himself, at one point walked to the center of that quad area — dropped the backpack — withdrew with a firearm and just started firing.”
When students realized the popping noises they heard were gunshots, they fled into classrooms and away from the school. Dozens took refuge in a choir classroom, which the teacher barricaded with a grand piano before tending to a student’s gunshot wounds. The coroner’s office identified the two students who died in the shooting as Gracie Anne Muehlberger, a 15-year-old girl, and Dominic Blackwell, a 14-year-old boy. Gracie’s father said in a brief phone interview on Thursday afternoon that the family was grieving.
The suspect survived but remains in critical condition. There is no indication that his mother knew he had a gun, Sheriff Villanueva said. Investigators are tracing the weapon as well as six other guns they found at the suspect’s home, some of which were not registered.
Even as the police said they did not know what inspired the suspect, they said it was clear he had planned the attack.
“It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment act,” Sheriff Villanueva said.
When students realized the popping noises they heard were gunshots, they fled into classrooms and away from the school. Dozens took refuge in a choir classroom, which a teacher barricaded with a grand piano before tending to a student’s gunshot wounds.
The injured victims — a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy — were all in stable condition by Thursday night, the authorities said.The injured victims — a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy — were all in stable condition by Thursday night, the authorities said.
The police have declined to name the suspect because he is a minor. Investigators searched his house, which is less than two miles from the school, and the F.B.I. was scouring social media for clues. The police initially said they believed that the suspect had posted on Instagram shortly before the shooting, but they later said the account in question did not belong to him. The police have declined to name the suspect because he is a minor. The F.B.I. was scouring social media for clues, but the police said on Friday that an Instagram account they initially believed was the suspect’s was actually not his.
Santa Clarita is home to many police officers, firefighters and emergency workers, and the first three police officers to respond to the shooting were off-duty officers who had dropped family members off at the school. Santa Clarita is home to many police officers, firefighters and emergency workers, and the first three police officers to respond to the shooting were off-duty officers who had dropped children off at the school.
Detective Daniel Finn had just driven away from the school when he saw children running from gunfire. Detective Daniel Finn had just dropped his girlfriend’s son off at the school when he saw hundreds of children running from gunfire.
Mr. Finn, who works in the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, turned his car around, ran onto campus and provided medical aid to several victims. He was quickly joined by off-duty officers from the Inglewood Police Department and another from the Los Angeles Police Department. A flood of additional officers then arrived. Mr. Finn, who works in the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, turned his car around, ran onto campus and provided medical aid to several victims, whom he found lying on the ground.
As police officers searched the campus for the suspect — they did not initially realize he had shot himself — students cowered in classrooms. Hundreds of students fled to a nearby park, where they reunited in tearful hugs with their parents, many of whom had raced to the school after getting texts from their children. He was quickly joined by an off-duty officer from the Inglewood Police Department and another from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Deputy James Callahan, a school resource officer, was on the scene seconds later, and a flood of additional officers soon arrived.
“When you’re a school resource deputy, you take a lot of pride in keeping your campus secure,” he said on Friday. “You never think a tragic thing like this is going to happen.”
Police officers saw a gun on the ground in the quad but were not sure that the gunman had shot himself until they reviewed the surveillance video and confirmed that he was one of the patients who had been transferred to a hospital.
As officers searched the campus, students cowered in classrooms. Hundreds of students fled to a nearby park, where they reunited in tearful hugs with their parents, many of whom had raced to the school after getting texts from their children.