This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
On November 14, 2019, a devastating school shooting occurred at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, leaving investigators struggling to understand the motive behind the attack.
The 16-year-old gunman, identified as Nathaniel T. Berhow, pulled a handgun from his backpack and shot five students, killing two of them, Gracie Anne Muehlberger, 15, and Dominic Blackwell, 14. Berhow then shot himself in the head but initially survived and was transported to a hospital along with the other victims.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the gunman seemed to have planned the attack and was familiar with how to use the gun, quickly fixing a malfunction and firing all but one round before shooting himself.
‘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 a firearm and just started firing.’
Despite conducting over 40 interviews, investigators found no manifesto, diary, or writings that would clearly identify the gunman’s motive behind the assault.
‘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.
As the police continued to investigate, they found six more weapons inside the gunman’s house, some of which were not registered. The authorities are tracing the weapon and the other guns found at the gunman’s home.
