School shooting reopens gun debate

Copycat phenomenon highlighted after teen kills 2 students in California

The national debate on gun violence was rekindled once more in the United States on Thursday when another fatal shooting took place - this time at a high school in California.

At least two students died and three were injured when a student pulled a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun from his backpack at a Southern California high school and began shooting before the start of classes.

Authorities said the first 911 calls of shots being fired came in at 7:38 am at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, a suburb about 60 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles.

The first units arrived on the scene within two minutes. They also found the 16-year-old shooter, identified in various reports as Nathaniel Berhow, with a gunshot wound to the head.

The deceased were a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, authorities said. Two female students, aged 14 and 15, and another male student, aged 14, were being treated at a hospital. The alleged shooter was listed in a grave condition.

Of the two students killed, the news of the second fatality came in the middle of a news conference at which officers were providing updates on the shooting.

"We just received word that one of the 14-year-old victims at the hospital has also passed away, just moments ago," Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.

"Our fatalities now are two. With heavy hearts, we are going to move on with the investigation and figure out what went wrong," he said.

Captain Kent Wegener of the Sheriff's Department said the entire incident, captured on videotape, took 16 seconds as the suspect stood in one spot and fired on one student after another.

"From right where he was standing, he doesn't chase anybody; he fires from where he is until he shoots himself," Wegener said.

"I hate to have Saugus be added to the names of Columbine, Parkland, Sandy Hook, but it's a reality that affects us all throughout the nation, something that we are going to have to deal with," the sheriff added in referencing past shootings at US schools that claimed scores of victims.

Adam Winkler, a specialist in constitutional law and a law professor at University of California, Los Angeles, said one thing that seems to be contributing to the increase in mass shootings in schools is the copycat phenomenon.

"It's very difficult to prevent mass shootings in a country where guns are easy to get a hold of," said Winkler.

California has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. It bans most assault weapons and .50 caliber rifles. It also restricts the sale, transfer, manufacture, and possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines.

In October, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a package of 15 bills aimed at strengthening gun-violence prevention.

Winkler, however, said California's laws are not relatively very strict because they "don't prevent dangerous people from getting their hands on guns, apparently", he said.

The William S. Hart Union High School District, which includes Saugus High School, said it is offering counseling for students and community members.

"The gun violence experienced across our nation, and all too often on school campuses, has prompted our district, like others, to conduct staff and student trainings for these unthinkable events," Deputy Superintendent Mike Kuhlman wrote on the district website.

"We take the training seriously; we prayed that we would never need it. Yet today, our brilliant staff bravely and vigilantly went into action."

Senator Dianne Feinstein posted to her Twitter account: "Today we're confronted with yet another heartbreaking school shooting. Once again I ask, when will enough be enough? Congress has the ability to reduce these mass shootings. What is lacking is courage among Senate Republicans and the president to actually take action."

The hashtags #GunControlNow and #EnoughIsEnough became some of the most popular on Twitter shortly after the shooting on Thursday.

US Vice-President Mike Pence expressed his condolences and conveyed a message on behalf of President Donald Trump.

"I spoke to President Trump not long ago, and he asked me to convey his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and the entire Santa Clarita community," he said.

As of Nov 14, the US has sustained 366 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

There have been 85 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in 2019, according to Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, a nonprofit group that tracks incidents of gun violence in the US.

Contact the writers at teresaliu@chinadailyusa.com.

Reuters contributed to this story.

(China Daily 11/16/2019 page7)