Schools have done drills like this since 2015 and 2016. 95 . A lot of discussion about whats that doing for Mental Health. After all, schools, despite whats happening, schools are still one of the safer places out there for children. Still this is awful, and it sound like the kids knew what to do once this started. Ali and stephanie, thank you so much. Were going to continue on with this. Its 2 00 p. M. In the east, 11 00 a. M. In california. One student is dead and multiple others are injured after a shooting at a Santa Clarita high school today. Were waiting on two News Conferences scheduled to happen at any moment. One from the l. A. County Sheriffs Office. The other from the hospital where the victims were taken. Here is what we know so far. The l. A. County sheriff says the suspect survived a selfinflicted Gunshot Wound after he fled to a nearby home. The sheriff also says that the suspect is a Young Asian Male who was a student at Saugus High School and is now in police custody. Officials say seven other students were injured. The local Hospital Reports that a female patient has died, and two other males are in critical condition. We heard what sounded like someone pounding on one of the walls really loudly. Kids were just running and crying. Two of my friends are still in there. Place is still locked up, its barricaded. My friends are telling me, also texting me, pray to god, hide, dont be scared. Literally just like a couple of weeks ago we were like, oh, what if it happened, what would you do . I was kind of like, hypothetical situation, i never thought it would actually happen. Joining me now from Santa Clarita, correspondent joe friar. Youre on the ground talking to students. What are you hearing . Reporter well, obviously we heard from a lot of students there. Most of the students that weve talked to have sort of described hearing one gunshot, then hearing a few more, describing
sort of a boom, boom, boom sound, and knowing what to do. Matter of factually, one student said, weve trained for this before, we all knew to run into the middle of the building to get under desks, to not say anything, to not answer our phones at all. Students, as weve been talking about, this is something they know to train for. They say they went into action. After the chaos unfolded at the school, we got reports that the gunman was not in custody. They were telling people to be cautious, to be on the lookout for a young man around 15 years old described as asian wearing dark clothes. Then a short time later, Police Descended on this neighborhood where im standingment were about 2. Standing. Were about 2. 5 miles from the school. You see where im standing now, there is police tape, but its down this road right here where a lot of people were under a little bit of a lockdown. Theres a house around the corner where police, its believed then had an encounter with the suspect or were able to find the suspect. At this point were still waiting for information about what exactly unfolded, if
anything at all, between authorities and the suspect who authorities do say is now in custody. So thats the latest we have here. We know that for sure four people were taken to the hospital here in Santa Clarita. Three initially arrived in critical condition. Since then, one of them, a female, has passed away. Two other males are in critical condition, and theres another male who is in good condition. To be honest, a lot of things we dont know, whether the gunman is considered one of the four taken to the hospital. Were hoping when we hear from the Sheriffs Department and the hospital well have more understanding of exactly how many people were injured and what the latest situation is with the gunman. Ive talked to people in this neighborhood here. They say they didnt really hear anything, they didnt hear gunshots or anything in this neighborhood. They just saw Police Descend upon the area, saw a helicopter overhead, and knew something was wrong and some people were basically asked to stay inside
their homes and lock down. Stick by for us for a little while, if you find anything new, please come back. We want to go now to one of our reporters, andy blankstein, joining us from our los angeles bureau. Joe said that the shooter had a selfinflicted Gunshot Wound, andy. Police have him in custody. Can we presume that they have him in custody at a local hospital . That much we do know. He is in custody. Theres been obviously conflicting reports. Multiple Law Enforcement sources have told nbc news that the gunman shot himself and that he is deceased. The sheriff later tweeted that he had been taken to a local hospital and being treated. Were waiting for kind of a clarification in terms of the sequence of events. Again, Law Enforcement sources that have talked to nbc news, myself, Pete Williams, eric leonard at knbc, have said that
the gunman is dead. As far as a motive, at this point still trying to sort out the crime scene. Trying to security Search Warrants or get the Search Warrants so they can get more information and background on this student. Hes 15 or 16 years old, and is a student at Saugus High School. At this point, still unfolding. Still trying to Chase Strands of this investigation. Do we know how law was able to Law Enforcement was able to locate theis young man . As with everything, initial reports from the scene where people see somebody according to the early tweets, it was a male asian dressed in black clothing. There were reports that after the shooting from a nearby Elementary School that at a home theres other reports that he was found at the school location. Thats another piece of the
puzzle that will hopefully be put together in the next hour or so when the sheriff and others address the media. Andy, hold on for a second. We want to bring in connecticut senator chris murphy whos been at the forefront of the fight for gun control since the shooting in shoetown, connecticut, in 2012 newtown, connecticut, in twoi2012, sandy hook. What is your reaction . I was down on the senate floor coincidentally trying to offer a motion to bring up the Background Check Bill for a vote in the senate at the very moment that news was breaking of this shooting. It is just another reminder of the cost of our total, complete inaction in the United States senate. When i got to my office, i had one of the sandy hook Family Members there, due to meet with me, who had to take a break, Who Couldnt Sit down and have a conversation because he was obviously so emotional reliving
the pain of sandy hook as this School Shooting was playing out on the news. Its a reminder that the trauma in places like parkland and newtown and aurora, they repeat on days like this when the news are filled with scenes as were watching out of california. But its also a reminder that we just cant sit by and do nothing as the slaughter continues. Republicans had an opportunity today as news was breaking of the shooting to bring up a Background Checks Bill that has 90 support in this country and once again they refused. Why not . I mean, their excuse today was they didnt have the opportunity to weigh in with some of their suggested changes of the of course, thats a pretty hard pill to swallow given the fact that they control the United States senate. Were not really doing anything in the senate these days. Were doing nominations and executive appointments. We have plenty of time to work on a Background Checks Bill that eventually could get republican
and democratic support. I think ultimately they dont want a break from the nra. Theyre not ready to do that yet. As i tell them, theyre going to continue to lose seats if they dont because parents across this country fear for their kids safety and want to see congress responding. Legitimate anxiety. Is there going to be solved in the courts right now, the supreme cou Supreme Court . Its allowing the movement in connecticut where sandy hook families are holding the makers of bushmaster, remington, liable for the gun used in the shooting at that school. Im glad that the sandy hook families are going to get their day in court. Its an abomination that in the 2000s at the height of the nras power they got a law passed through congress that effectively protected the gun industry from liability. Today if you make a toy gun, you have more Product Liability than if you make a real gun. The sandy hook families have
found a way to court, the Supreme Court is allowing the lawsuit to go forward. Maybe the makers of these Assault Weapons are going to be finally held accountable in a court of law. If 90 of the American Public supports a Background Check Bill and that is not taken up in the senate, do you think that that alone along with the shootings weve seen, will be enough for the voters it to change the Balance Of Power in the senate in 2020 . I mean, you saw about 30 seats change hands from republicans that were a rated by the nra to democrats who are voting for things like Background Checks and Assault Weapons ban. That was a remarkable, very quick change in the composition of congress on matters related to gun policy. And i think that that trend is going to continue. I really think that republicans will lose control of the senate and will never get back into power in the House Of Representatives unless they start supporting these common sense interventions. I think thats why you see republicans starting to move. Thats why President Trump entertained the notion for the first time this summer of signing on to a Background Checks Bill. Hes got enough of a political incentive to know that in the face of this continued mass slaughter, his party is going to be irrelevant pretty soon if they dont make some kind of break with the gun lobby. Not to be too cynical here, but in talking about money and talking about the nra rating, School Safety is now a 2. 7 billion industry. Thats technology at the front of schools for sorting through people who are going inside, its technologies to prevent or do lockdowns in schools, its backpack technology, 2. 7 billion industry right now. As a parent of two Elementary School, Public School children, i do want to make sure that the school that theyre going to is as safe as it can be without creating a prisonlike atmosphere in which they fear for their lives every time they walk through the door. I dont think its an either or proposition. I think we need to make our schools more secure. But i also know that theres no level of security that can protect my kids with 100 certainty if we still allow these militarystyle weapons to get into the hands of people who are having these serious breaks from reality. Were going to have to do both. Senator murphy, thank you so much for joining us today. Thanks. Lets now listen to some sound, an interview with some students, with one witness of the shooting. It just kind of happened mid conversation. We heard the first shot. We didnt really know what it was. And we kind of thought it was a mix carton being, you know, stepped on because that happens pretty often. Its kind of like, okay. But then we heard multiple shots like in order, and we kind of like we didnt really say anything to like react. We just kind of ran toward the escaped as federal government as fast as possible. After the first shot, obviously i thought it was just a joke. Then someone i dont know, someone like ran away initially. And i thought it was weird. Then the other shots came in, and just yeah. I knew, like, okay, this isnt a joke, need to get out of here right now. Lets bring in nbc news correspondent simone boyce from Santa Clarita. Also following the investigation is nbc news justice correspondent Pete Williams. Simone, first to you. That student just described initially thinking that somebody stepped on a milk carton. Unfortunately, weve lost simone here it is. We lost your audio. Please start over. Reporter okay. Were hearing similar stories of terror and grief and shock here were losing it again. Were going to try and get that reestabli reestablished. Over to Pete Williams. What can you tell us about the investigation . Reporter were waiting to get cleared up something thats been rather confusing over the past hour or so. When this all ended, when the authorities converged on a house near the school, we were told by several Law Enforcement officials that the shooting suspect was inside, had shot himself, and was dead. And then as you know, the sheriff put out a message saying that the gunman had been taken to a hospital and was being treated. And so weve been trying to square that circle and trying to figure out which it is. We knew early on that they the threat was over, that the authorities had found the suspect and had considered the suspect neutralized and that it was a selfinflicted gunshot. But were still waiting to hear
from the authorities now which is it. Was the gunman dead at the scene . Did he die en route to the hospital . Was he simply pronounced dead at the hospital . Thats what were waiting to find out. In terms of who this young man is, its a male, obviously, the sheriff had earlier said it was an asian male, all dressed in black. 15 years old. It may turn out that he was 16 because today was his birthday. Were awaiting to hear more about what the weapon was and anything more about the about the shooting suspect. But also hoping that they can clarify exactly what the sequence of events was. Do you know why he fled to that house in particular . Was that his house . Reporter not that we know of. We think that was just a you know, he was just looking for someplace to hide. And can we presume with confidence that he is deceased . Reporter well, yeah, normally i would say yes. I mean, everything weve been told says yes. But theres this tweet from the the sheriff saying he was being treated at the hospital. So far, the hospital has only said that theres one person who was brought there who has died. That was the woman who had been in critical condition. We know from the Sheriffs Office that everybody involved in the shooting, both the suspect and the victims, were all students at the high school. Your question is good, and you know, this is the confusion were hoping they can clear up. Of course. Its always we get information as we get it during these breaking news moments. Sometimes that information changes. Pete williams, what can you tell me about the weapon that he used . Reporter well, we dont know for sure yet. We think it was a handgun, but we dont know. So often these School Shootings are carried out with rifles or socalled assaulttype weapons. We think this was a handgun. And perhaps that would account for the fact that as far as we know five or only five or six
people were actually received Gunshot Wounds. That number might well have been higher if it was a different weapon. Were waiting for confirmation of that. Everything weve heard indicates that it was a handgun. Inside the school, according to a parent we interviewed on this air, some of the students who witnessed the shooting are still being interviewed by investigators and Law Enforcement officers. What sort of questions will they be asking . Reporter very simple, what did you see . What did you see, what happened . And as now has to be asked, had you gotten any warning, why do you think this young man did this, what do you know about the suspect, was he bullied, was he was he a loner, was he depressed, those sorts of things. Theyre also looking obviously at his social media, people he was in touch with, did he give any kind of warnings about this, did he say to anybody dont go to school tomorrow, anything
like that. We are still waiting for a Press Conference from the sheriff. Were also waiting for a Press Conference from the hospital. Again, for those who might just be tuning in, the local hospital in that area has tweeted out that one student has died. That is a female student. There are three other male students who have also been shot. They are in critical condition, but they are are still okay as of now. Simone boyce, one of our nbc news correspondents, is down there at the school. We had a problem with her audio a moment ago. Weve reestablished it im told. Simone, what can you tell us . Reporter we are at central park right now which is less than a couple of miles away from Saugus High School where the shooting took place. I believe behind me you can see an fbi huddle taking place. As you mentioned, we are bracing for that Press Conference that should be taking place in just a couple of minutes. Hopefully we will be learning more about the suspect and ge