LOS ANGELES, Nov 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — 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 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.
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.
The students slain by Berhow were identified as Gracie Anne Muehlberger,
15, and a 14-year-old boy.
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. — NNN-AGENCIES
