Santa Clarita, California, high school shooting leaves 2 students dead, multiple injured

A teenage gunman opened fire at a Southern California high school Thursday morning, killing two students and wounding three others, before shooting himself in the head, officials said.

The suspect, whom authorities described as an Asian male and who turned 16 Thursday, was in "grave" condition at a hospital, Los Angeles County authorities said. Surveillance video from the school showed the shooter pulled a gun from his backpack and began firing at a group of students, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Cpt. Kent Wegener.

"Within approximately 16 seconds, it was over," Wegener said.

Multiple law enforcement sources told NBC News the suspected shooter was identified as 16-year-old Nathaniel Tennosuke Berhow.

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Authorities say Santa Clarita shooting took just 16 seconds

Nov. 15, 201902:23

The students who died were a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. All of the victims and the suspect attended Saugus High School in Santa Clarita.

Three other students — two girls, 14 and 15, and a 14-year-old boy — were also shot in the school's quad before classes began Thursday, officials said. One of the wounded students was declared in stable condition and released.

"I hate to have Saugus be added to the names of Columbine, Parkland, Sandy Hook, but it’s a reality that affects us all throughout the nation, something we’re going to have to deal with," Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a news conference after finding out the second student had died.

First responders arrived at the school within two minutes of the initial report of the shooting just after 7:30 a.m., Villanueva said.

A .45 semi-automatic pistol with no bullets left in it was recovered from the scene, and investigators were obtained a search warrant for the suspect's home. They were also interviewing his girlfriend and his mother.

Investigators said they believed the shooter acted alone, and had not determined a motive.

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Watch: Student witnesses describe scene of Santa Clarita school shooting

Nov. 14, 201904:05

The alleged shooter's Instagram account at one point Thursday included a biography that read, "Saugus, have fun at school tomorrow."

"I can confirm that was posted on his account and I can also confirm that it has been changed since this incident, which means there is somebody else that has access to this account," Wegener said Thursday.

Authorities do not know who changed the biography or the motivation behind changing the account information, but have included it into their investigation.

Authorities searched for the suspect after the shooting, not immediately realizing that he was one of the six people wounded.

"If you live in neighborhoods anywhere near Saugus High, PLEASE LOCK DOORS and stay inside," the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Office said in a tweet before the suspect was identified. "If you see suspect, male dark clothing, in backyards, etc. CALL 911."

"Parents, deputies are on scene everywhere protecting your children," the sheriff's office said.

The Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's office tweeted just before 8 a.m. that the public should avoid the area of Saugus High School, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. Minutes later, the office said people were reporting that shots had been fired at the school.

One student, Sharon Orelana Cordova, told NBC Los Angeles that she was doing homework when she saw people running so she started running, too. "When I got out, I saw this person lying down on the ground, and I saw blood all over. It was really scary, I was really, really scared. I didn’t know what was going on," she said.

Saugus was placed on lockdown as were neighboring elementary schools and all of the schools in Saugus' William S. Hart Union High School District, officials said.

Aerial video showed students with their hands raised, being escorted by deputies away from the school of about 2,300 students, NBC Los Angeles reported. They were transported from the campus on school buses with armed deputies on board.

An area was set up for parents to reunify with their children at a park about 3 miles from the school.

A statement from Mike Kuhlman, deputy superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District, said school officials were "in the process of formulating a plan to care for our school and our community — and will continue sharing updates as we learn more — including the plan for the days ahead."

"Our hearts go out to the families of those affected by this terrible incident. Words are insufficient in times such as these," the statement said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom mentioned a stalled bill on universal background checks for gun sales on Twitter Thursday, adding that President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "sicken" him.

"260 days of McConnell and Trump doing NOTHING while America continues to mourn," Newsom said. "To bury loved ones. To witness our neighbors, friends, and children gunned down at our malls, churches, and schools."

CORRECTION (Nov. 14, 2019, 3:13 p.m.) An earlier version of this story misstated the status of the suspect in the shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. The suspect shot himself in the head and is in grave condition in a hospital; he has not died.