'Quiet, smart' California school shooter dies after planned attack

A 16-year-old boy who killed two students and injured three at a California high school before shooting himself has died.

Students are escorted out of Saugus High School after reports of a shooting on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, in Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Students are escorted out of Saugus High School. Source: AP

A 16-year-old boy planned the attack that killed two students and wounded three others at a Southern California high school, but investigators were so far unable to find out why he brought a gun to campus and opened fire, authorities say.

After more than 40 interviews and evaluation of evidence, no motive had been established, said Captain Kent Wegener, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's homicide unit.



He said no manifesto, diary or suicide note had been found.

"It still remains a mystery why," Sheriff Alex Villanueva told a press conference.

The teenager opened fire on his birthday on Thursday morning after being dropped off by his mother at Saugus High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita.

Nathaniel Tennosuke Berhow fired the final bullet into his own head.


He died at 3.32 pm on Friday at a hospital with his mother present, according to a Sheriff's Department statement.

The shooting in an outdoor plaza took just 16 seconds and was recorded on security video, authorities said.

The teen stood by himself, did not appear to interact with anyone and then walked to the centre of the quad, Mr Villanueva said.

"As far as we know the actual targets were at random," the sheriff said.

"It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment act."

The origin of the gun was being investigated.

Three off-duty law enforcement officers were first on the scene and treated some of the wounded until paramedics arrived.
Students are escorted out of Saugus High School after reports of a shooting on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, in Santa Clarita, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Students are escorted out of Saugus High School. Source: AP
The dead were identified as 15-year-old Gracie Anne Muehlberger and 14-year-old Dominic Blackwell.

The names of the wounded students were not released.

Doctors said on Friday morning that two girls, ages 14 and 15, who were both shot in the torso, were doing well and should be released from the hospital over the weekend.

A 14-year-old boy was treated and released from another hospital, authorities said.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world