Two students have been killed and three others injured by a gunman who opened fire at a secondary school in California, officials say.
The shooting took place at the Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, minutes before the school day was due to begin.
Police found six people suffering from gunshot wounds and transferred them to local hospitals – and the suspect was later identified as one of those injured, Mr Villanueva said.
The suspect was “identified as a 16-year-old male whose birthday was today”, firearms expert Captain Kent Wegener said. He was named by US media as Nathaniel Berhow.
The teenaged gunman survived the self-inflicted gunshot to the head and was in grave condition and was taken into custody. law enforcement officials said.
The suspected gunman remained unidentified. Police said he acted alone. They searched his family home and found no further danger.
The shooting was first reported at 07:38 local time (15:38 GMT), LA county sheriff Alex Villanueva told a press conference. “Within seconds we received multiple [emergency] calls,” he said, adding that the first police units had arrived at the scene within two minutes.
Saugus now joins an ever growing list of schools remembered as sites of gun tragedies, such as Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Columbine High School in Colorado, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Florida.
This is at least the 85th incident of gunfire on school grounds this year, according to Everytown, an advocacy group for stricter gun laws.
