Two students at a high school in Santa Clarita, Calif., has been killed and four others, including the shooter, were wounded in a campus attack Thursday morning.
NBC Southern California reports that the shooting attack occurred at about 7:30 a.m. Pacific time at Saugus High School, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. The school is part of the William S. Hart Union High School District.
Police say the shooter, a boy who turned 16 on Thursday, pulled a weapon from his backpack and fired at several students in the quad area of the school, then turned the gun on himself. Police said he was in "grave" condition at Henry Mayo Hospital.
A girl, 16, and a boy, 14, have died from their injuries. Another male patient is in good condition.
Two other wounded students, both girls, were being treated at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. One was in fair condition, and one was in good condition.
Authorities say the shooter was armed with a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol. When police recovered the gun, all bullets had been discharged.
Aerial video showed students with hands raised being escorted by deputies from the school of about 2,300 students. They were taken to school buses with armed deputies on board.
Deputies are following up on reports that the shooter dropped off a backpack at a baseball field near a house in the neighborhood, according to the sheriff's department.
"It's one of my worst nightmares as a sheriff," says Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
