Saugus High School shooting

On the morning of November 14, 2019, a school shooting occurred at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. Toward the end of first period, while students gathered in an outside courtyard, 16-year-old junior Nathaniel Berhow pulled a .45 caliber semiautomatic handgun from his backpack and opened fire. The weapon was later identified by the Los Angeles County Sheriff as a privately made "ghost gun" assembled from a kit. Surveillance footage showed that after firing one round the pistol jammed; Berhow fixed it, shot four more people, and then used his last round to shoot himself in the head. The entire attack lasted sixteen seconds, beginning at 7:38 a.m.

Two freshmen, 15-year-old Gracie Anne Muehlberger and 14-year-old Dominic Michael Blackwell, were killed. A single bullet passed through Muehlberger's backpack and struck her back, exiting through her chest. Three other students — two girls aged 15 and 14, and a 14-year-old boy — were injured and hospitalized; one, Mia Tretta, was shot in the stomach and survived. Berhow shot himself and died the following day, November 15, 2019, in a hospital. According to the school and district, students and staff used lessons from prior active-shooter drills, including a student-made training video and classroom gunshot-wound kits, to respond during the attack.

First responders included three off-duty police officers who happened to be dropping off relatives at the school, followed within a minute by on-duty sheriff's deputies, including the school's assigned resource officer, and Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel.

The subsequent investigation, conducted by Los Angeles County Sheriff's detectives with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, focused on determining whether the firearm was assembled by Berhow or by his late father, an avid hunter who died in December 2017; unregistered weapons were found and confiscated from the family home. Investigators stated they found no manifesto, diary, or suicide note explaining a motive, though the sheriff said Berhow's familiarity with the weapon and the speed of the attack suggested planning. Berhow had described himself in a personal journal as "partially sadistic and psychotic."

In the aftermath, the school district closed nearby schools temporarily, held vigils attended by thousands, and later added the names of both deceased victims to a memorial sign at Central Park in Santa Clarita in February 2021. Politicians across the political spectrum, including President Donald Trump and Senator Kamala Harris, publicly responded, and the shooting became part of the national debate over gun control, including discussion of "ghost guns." In October 2023, families of the victims filed suit against the school district, alleging failure to prevent the shooting.