LOS ANGELES, Nov 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The teenager who gunned down
classmates at a California high school before shooting himself died Friday,
leaving detectives baffled over the motive of a Boy Scout with no obvious
alarm bells in his background.
Nathaniel Berhow died in a hospital one day after shooting himself in the
head at the end of a 16th birthday rampage that left two fellow students
dead.
Berhow had been in critical condition since police officers storming the
campus found him lying among the wounded.
The Los Angeles sheriff’s department confirmed Berhow died shortly after
3:30 pm (2330 GMT) on Friday.
The puzzle of what led him to open fire at Saugus High School, a short
commute from Los Angeles, deepened as a picture emerged of a quiet yet
sociable teen who was familiar with guns but had no history of troubled
behavior.
“We know it was a planned attack, it was deliberate… The motive? We
don’t have it yet,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told a news
conference.
The victims — a boy and a girl died while another three students were
wounded — appeared to have been chosen at random, he said.
“There’s no relationships that we can tell (between) the suspect and the
victims,” Villanueva added, scotching rumors that an ex-girlfriend had been
his target.
There was also no history of the teen being bullied.
The FBI earlier said there is no evidence that the suspect had any
ideological motives or acted on behalf of any organization. No manifesto or
suicide note has been found.
Deepening the riddle, Berhow’s late father had owned six registered guns –
– but none of them matched the .45 caliber semiautomatic the suspect used.
His proficiency with the weapon during his short, deadly ambush suggested
he had been firing guns for some time.
“In 16 seconds he cleared a malfunction and was able to shoot five people
and himself, so he seemed very familiar with firing the weapon,” said
Villanueva.
– ‘Bewildered’ –
Jared Axen, 33, a next door neighbor, described Berhow as an introvert who
was usually quiet and reserved but who had friends and could readily be
engaged in conversation.
“I would see him go back and forth between scouting. I’d see him do a lot
of sports-related activities,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
School records show Berhow was a keen middle-distance track runner.
Aidan Soto, a fellow scout and student at Saugus, described the suspect as
a “good kid,” and the last person he would expect to carry out a mass
shooting.
“The younger scouts really looked up to him. He was there when they needed
him with anything. I’m bewildered and looking for answers.”
Although Berhow had no evident history of violence, his family life over
the past few years had been difficult.
His father, divorced from his mother not long before, died of a heart
attack in December 2017.
The father had reportedly suffered from alcohol-related problems, and was
at one point suspected of domestic violence but never prosecuted for lack of
evidence.
Nonetheless, the father and son were seemingly close.
“He would tell me that he missed his father and that he loved him,” Axen
said.
– ‘Another innocent person’ –
The father was a keen hunter whom neighbors would see manufacturing
ammunition in his garage. Investigators said they found additional arms at
the home, beyond the six registered weapons.
Berhow would sometimes accompany his father on hunting trips, according to
Axen — accounting for the deadly accuracy of his shooting.
He also “knew how many rounds he had,” noted Villanueva, the sheriff. The
teen gunman saved his final bullet for himself.
The students slain by Berhow were identified as Gracie Anne Muehlberger,
15, and a 14-year-old boy.
Messages on Muehlberger’s Instagram page read “I miss you so much already
love,” and “It’s so sad that another innocent person has to die.”
Another wounded teenager was able to return home Friday morning, and two
girls — both operated on for gunshot wounds — should be able to leave the
hospital in a few days, say medics.
Tearful prayer vigils were held Thursday night, and all schools in the
district remained closed Friday in a mark of respect, Deputy Superintendent
Mike Kuhlman said.