Saugus High School Shooting

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At least six people were wounded in a shooting at Saugus High School when a gunman opened fire on the Santa Clarita campus early Thursday, authorities said.
The shooting was reported at the campus at 21900 Centurion Way sometime before 8 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Television footage from the scene showed teenagers walking in a line behind armed law enforcement officials with their arms raised in the air. Several students were placed on gurneys and transported to ambulances in the school’s parking lot.
Nearby Rosedell and Highland elementary schools were locked down as authorities searched for the shooter.

The suspect is described as a 15-year-old boy wearing a black hat and black clothing, sheriff’s officials said.

They haven't caught the perp yet. This is like Parkland all over again, with the shooter escaping police attention (so far).

Shooter is dead [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And is suspected to be an Asian male dressed in all black.

According to NBC, one female victim has died so far.

Tommy QTR wrote:

Shooter is dead [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And is suspected to be an Asian male dressed in all black.

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They've walked that back and asserted the shooter has been arrested. Allegedly the shooting took place before classes even started, which makes me wonder if it was a genuine rampage or if there was a personal motive.

QuestionMark wrote:

Tommy QTR wrote:

Shooter is dead [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And is suspected to be an Asian male dressed in all black.

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They've walked that back and asserted the shooter has been arrested. Allegedly the shooting took place before classes even started, which makes me wonder if it was a genuine rampage or if there was a personal motive.

Yeah, I had read that not every kid was even at the school yet. It's kind of an odd time for a rampage... I dunno like if you wanted to kill a lot of people you'd want to wait until a bit later in the day I would think. It makes me think it is personal. Since one girl has died maybe she knew him? Ex or something?

Edit: A second victim has died. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

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The suspects birthday was today apparently, if thats the case then thats one hell of a birthday bash!

Ankareth wrote:

hvernon wrote:

QuestionMark wrote:

Tommy QTR wrote:

Shooter is dead [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And is suspected to be an Asian male dressed in all black.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

They've walked that back and asserted the shooter has been arrested. Allegedly the shooting took place before classes even started, which makes me wonder if it was a genuine rampage or if there was a personal motive.

Yeah, I had read that not every kid was even at the school yet. It's kind of an odd time for a rampage... I dunno like if you wanted to kill a lot of people you'd want to wait until a bit later in the day I would think. It makes me think it is personal. Since one girl has died maybe she knew him? Ex or something?

Edit: A second victim has died. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Yeah I could see it being something like that, The Sante Fe shooter killed a girl who rejected him I believe so its a possibility. Also I read he is in the hospital, I wonder if the wounds were self inflicted.

Apparently the suspect shot himself in the head, so I don’t think he’ll last much longer.

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TheOne99 wrote:

The suspects birthday was today apparently, if thats the case then thats one hell of a birthday bash!

I always thought it would be cool to die on your birthday, grave stone would look a little weird

Have they found a motive yet?

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Ankareth wrote:

joebox97 wrote:

Have they found a motive yet?

No, not yet its mostly speculation but with it being his birthday it could just be him being fed up with life or that girl denying him or anything else really. I'll post something if they find out if someone doesn't do it before me.

This is actually why I came here, I refuse to listen to the media right now. I'm sure they will twist the story for more views/attention. Being such a small count, the time he did it, to me it seems like he was after certain people or person. Your guess makes sense.

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This is just heartbreaking. He was 15 years old. That’s a child. You’re still trying to find your place in this crazy world. I work every day with children this age.

Today was his birthday.

Imagine how completely desperate , full of self-loathing and pain you must have to wake up the day of your birthday and the only thing on your mind is hurting yourself and hurting others. It’s unimaginable.

Rumors are floating around that the shooter is brain dead and on life support.

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Are we allowed to share the names of the victims?

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The female victim is believed to be Gracie Muehlberger. The male victim is Dominic Blackwell. There is no 3rd victim, the police clarified that on their Twitter.

This is information from a Facebook group I'm in that contains people that attend or have children attending the school. People have been sharing memorial stuff for Dominic. But there are just claims right now that the girl killed is Gracie.

Edit: Also, Nate's father was killed by a drunk driver about a year ago. That might have been the trigger for this shooting?

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The female victim is believed to be Gracie Muehlberger. The male victim is Dominic Blackwell. There is no 3rd victim, the police clarified that on their Twitter.

This is information from a Facebook group I'm in that contains people that attend or have children attending the school. People have been sharing memorial stuff for Dominic. But there are just claims right now that the girl killed is Gracie.

Edit: Also, Nate's father was killed by a drunk driver about a year ago. That might have been the trigger for this shooting?


Nate’s father passed 3 years ago at 53 years old of a heart attack. His obituary is online. His mom also filed for divorce and for full custody shortly before that.

A friend stated that Nate hadn’t been acting like himself the past couple of days, claiming that he seemed down and depressed.

true_crime wrote:

The female victim is believed to be Gracie Muehlberger. The male victim is Dominic Blackwell. There is no 3rd victim, the police clarified that on their Twitter.

This is information from a Facebook group I'm in that contains people that attend or have children attending the school. People have been sharing memorial stuff for Dominic. But there are just claims right now that the girl killed is Gracie.

Edit: Also, Nate's father was killed by a drunk driver about a year ago. That might have been the trigger for this shooting?


Nate’s father passed 3 years ago at 53 years old of a heart attack. His obituary is online. His mom also filed for divorce and for full custody shortly before that.

A friend stated that Nate hadn’t been acting like himself the past couple of days, claiming that he seemed down and depressed.

Hm.... that's interesting. All the news sites were reporting that his father was hit by a drunk driver. Perhaps just a rumor about the drunk driver then and news sites picked it up. The kids interviewed said the death really effected Nate. I bet that's what started this whole thing.

Edit: The father died in December of 2017... so it would be coming up on two years next month. I would guess that is the tipping point. An LA times article mentioned something about a spouse battery charge but then said I needed to subscribe to read. So not sure about that.

In an abc news video they said his father died of a heart attack at the age of 55. Very curious what the motive turns out to be. I hope he survives so he can tell why he did it, or at least they find a note or journal or video or something explaining why.

DanielGardner wrote:

In an abc news video they said his father died of a heart attack at the age of 55. Very curious what the motive turns out to be. I hope he survives so he can tell why he did it, or at least they find a note or journal or video or something explaining why.

Yeah, he definitely died that way. Not sure why so many outlets reported a wreck at first. With the two year anniversary next month, I have a feeling that he was just depressed and it drove him to do this.

I think he's on life support right now. So, I don't really think we will hear from him ever. Might be one of those shootings with no motive announced.

Why is this getting more coverage than other shootings with 2-3 dead? Is it because it's California? Is  there just nothing going on in the news?

He and I share a birthday. I was reading about this yesterday, on my birthday, and saw it was his birthday too.

Two school shootings in one day. 14 November was school shooting in Russia.

Russianman wrote:

Two school shootings in one day. 14 November was school shooting in Russia.

It's terrible. At least the casualty count was low in that one, too, but that brings no comfort to the families of those who lost their lives.

Jenn wrote:

He and I share a birthday. I was reading about this yesterday, on my birthday, and saw it was his birthday too.

I hope the sad news didn't put too much of a damper on your birthday. Happy Belated!

Torque187 wrote:

Why is this getting more coverage than other shootings with 2-3 dead? Is it because it's California? Is  there just nothing going on in the news?

My guess is everyone's sick of the impeachment hearings.

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First things first: Belated Happy Birthday to you [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]!

Ankareth wrote:

There's what QuestionMark said and it was a school so it gets more attention, it could also have something to do with it being in California.

Since I am from Germany, may someone explain me, what this "It was in California" means? Honestly do not get why it would be more media-covered because of the state...

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Nate has passed. The names of the victims have been released to the public now. I posted them earlier in this thread.

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Ankareth wrote:

hvernon wrote:

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Nate has passed. The names of the victims have been released to the public now. I posted them earlier in this thread.

Sort of unrelated to his death so I apologize but "The entire attack took just 16 seconds." that's just kind of insane to me I didn't know about that.

Yes, it all happened very quickly. Probably no one had time to react. He had no bullets left in the gun either. He seemingly knew that he had only one bullet left and used that to shoot himself.

[quote="hvernon"]

hvernon wrote:

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Nate has passed. The names of the victims have been released to the public now. I posted them earlier in this thread.
Sort of unrelated to his death so I apologize but "The entire attack took just 16 seconds." that's just kind of insane to me I didn't know about that.

Yes, it all happened very quickly. Probably no one had time to react. He had no bullets left in the gun either. He seemingly knew that he had only one bullet left and used that to shoot himself.

I just noticed that the shooting lasted for 16 seconds on his 16th birthday

true_crime wrote:

I just noticed that the shooting lasted for 16 seconds on his 16th birthday

What a coincidence

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Thank you for your answer! I know understand it better. Also RIP to the people who died

Saw this article about Nathanial Berhow regarding how other Japanese and Japanese Americans feel about a Nikkei (a descendant of a Japanese emigrant) committing such a crime

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J-TOWN BEAT: WHEN THE SHOOTER IS NIKKEI 0 Posted On NOVEMBER 22, 2019

By GWEN MURANAKA

Nathaniel Berhow joins a growing list of young men who have turned to guns and left carnage and horror in their wake.

Inevitably we ask, why did they do it? We comb through their Reddit or Instagram posts, ask if they were bullied or loners, if they were driven by racism or misogyny, or some other demon within. Usually a neighbor or classmate says the kid was quiet and “seemed nice.” Of course, the firearms are the common denominator.

It must be all the more terrifying for Japanese parents residing in the United States. Guns are so rare in Japan — and America’s toxic gun culture is one of the harder parts of our society to understand. How can Americans tolerate such daily violence? In Japan, a single incident of gun violence (usually committed by a member of the yakuza, since they’re the only people besides the police with access to guns) is enough to draw national headlines. Here that would barely be a blip on the local news.

Since the Nov. 14 attack, more than 20 people have died in California from gun violence.

During my time in Tokyo, I recall the headlines during the ’98 Nagano Olympics when biathletes were bringing their .22-caliber rifles and bullets for competition. Strict restrictions upset athletes who were unable to practice shooting. Local authorities made sure that each rifle was locked down, their serial numbers recorded, and bullets had to be registered.

Every single bullet.

When news spread that the shooter at Saugus High School was Japanese, there was a feeling of dread and nausea, that one of us could have perpetrated such horror. It is the worst possible way for a Nikkei to make the news.

For Japanese and Japanese Americans, Berhow could have been their son, grandson or nephew. A hapa kid, born to a white dad and Japanese mom, pretty much fits the description of many in our community. And so, there has been a level of sympathy in the JA community, particularly for his mother Mami Matsuura, who is now a member of a club no parent wants to join.

There were also signs of distress in the family including allegations of domestic violence, divorce and the sudden passing of Nathaniel’s father, Mark. None of it yields easy answers in the aftermath of such tragedy.

Sue Klebold, mother of Columbine shooter Dylan Klebold, wrote: “I wish I had known then what I know now: that it was possible for everything to seem fine with him when it was not, and that behaviors I mistook for a moody teenager were actually subtle signs of psychological deterioration.”

As a community we have rightfully praised the Issei pioneers who traveled from Japan so long ago. But there is another immigration story that is happening more recently.

Many of these new Issei pioneers are bright, talented women from Japan, drawn by freedoms and opportunities in America. Women like Mami Matsuura. The Shin Issei and Shin Nisei are the new Japanese American community, and organizations including The Rafu have to adapt to meet their needs. Organizations offering in-language services can help Shin Issei and Nisei cope with social isolation and offer an empathetic outlet for coping with cultural differences and finding vital social services.

When we held a Rafu roundtable discussion, UCLA anthropology professor Tritia Toyota said of this new generation: “There are so many challenges associated with the Shin Nisei, a generation that is multicultural and multiracial (and have) transnational fluidity because they have Shin Issei moms who are married to Americans.”

There is no hope if a society cannot protect its most vulnerable. Sadly, Japanese and Japanese Americans are not immune to the problems of gun violence in America.