Two killed in a California high school shooting, Asian American suspect identified

The shooting suspect is Nathaniel Berhow, a students at Saugus High School.

Two students are dead, another critically injured and three others are wounded in a school shooting Thursday morning (Nov. 14) at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. NBC News reports the suspect, a 16-year-old Asian American is in police custody.

The students who died were a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, the authorities said. The other victims, all injured by gunfire, were identified as a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, reports the New York Times.

The student in critical condition is the shooting suspect, who CBS News has identified as Nathaniel Berhow, a junior at the school.

Authorities said during a news conference that the shooting suspect's birthday was Thursday and that he used a .45-caliber handgun which was found with zero rounds in it. They say school security footage shows the boy pulling out his weapon and shooting five people before shooting himself. 

According to NBC News, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Office tweeted just before 8 a.m. PST to avoid the area of Saugus High School.

The suspect, who was dressed in all black Thursday, is in grave condition, say authorities, who didn't identify him because he is a minor. However, classmates who know the suspect say he's an ordinary, quiet students,  on sports teams and has a girlfriend. Thursday was his 16th birthday.

The motive for the shooting is unknown, say authorities.

"With a heavy heart, we're going to move on with the investigation and figure out what went wrong," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. "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're going to have to figure out."

Media reports and classmates say that since his father died two years ago, he's gotten quieter. He's been living with his mother, who was born in Japan. The family has lived in Santra Clarita for 20 years.

Police searched Berhow's home and recovered several guns supposedly owned by the father.

Several law enforcement sources told NBC4 that deputies from the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Office detained the suspect's father for a mental health evaluation.

As a result of that incident, deputies confiscated a number of firearms from the home. Sources told NBC that the father would not be allowed to legally purchase a gun in California. Apparently the father was able to buy replacement guns, either illegally or by purchasing the weapons in other states then illegally transporting the guns back to California.

Santa Clarita is a bedroom community just north of Los Angeles. Its demographics: 48.3% non-Hispanic white, 32.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 4.2% black or African American and almost 1% American Indian. The student body of the school closely corresponds with the city's demographics.

The shooting occurred just before school began. The school has had suspected-shooter drills and clustered in classroom while other fled away from the sound of gunshots.

SCREEN CAPTURE / ABC

Teacher Kaitlin Holt helped a wounded student.

Kaitlin Holt, a choir teacher is being called a hero after she treated one of the wounded students in the aftermath of the shooting.

Holt says many students ran into her classroom Thursday morning, including one shooting victim who was wounded in her shoulder and her side.

"I've never experienced such a strong fight or flight situation. I'm not typically a calm person but in that situation for my students I think that kind of kicks in," she told ABC News.

Holt covered the student's gunshot wounds to her right "side" and left shoulder.

"She was really strong, she was really great. She was joking with me. She was like 'I'm going to be home schooled after this.' She was doing well, as much as I could say."

In another part of the school, says parent George Atilano, his 14-year old daughter Raquel, was at band practice. She told him that practic had just begun when students started rushing into the classroom saying there was a shooter.

Atilano said the band director went outside to confirm that there was indeed a shooter then came back in and started finding places where students could be kept out of sight, including an office and library. “He rounded kids up and shoved them in there,” Atilano said. The group was rescued about 20 minutes later.

AsAm News contributed to this report.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Thousands pray for Pakistani student slain at Texas high school

Photo by Ahmed Sharma

A prayer service was held prior to the funeral for Sabika Sheikh. 

By Ahmed Sharma
ASAM NEWS

SUNDAY (May 19) was a dark and dreary day in Texas. Rain poured heavily as cars raced to attend the funeral services for Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani exchange student who was one of 10 killed during last week’s school shooting in Sante Fe, a small town outside Houston.

Thousands of Muslims gathered at Masjid As-Sabireen mosque in Stafford, a city about 19 miles away from Houston, to pay their respects. The overflow crowd prayed outside on the sidewalk.

As the prayers began, voices clamored to delay services a few more minutes so other people could find parking and join in. Despite a majority of the participants not knowing Sabika Sheikh, even the rain and scarce parking did not deter people from coming to pray for her.

Directly after the services, Sheikh’s body was carried to a hearse and taken to the airport, so that she may be buried in her hometown of Karachi, Pakistan.

SABIKA SHEIKH

A majority of the attendees did not know Sheikh but one volunteer said, “she has no family here except her host family and it happened here in our city so of course we will pay our respects. It is [part of] our [faith] and she is our daughter and our sister in Islam.”Among the attendees were dignitaries like Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Texas Rep. Al Green.

A crowd formed inside the mosque as well to hear from Sheikh’s host family and friends. According to the host parents, they began fasting with Sabika Sheikh during the month of Ramadan. One of the daughters of the host family, Jaelyn Cogburn, fought through tears during her eulogy: 

“When I first started school, I didn’t know anyone. And I met Saika, and she didn’t know anyone either. And we became very close…She was so loyal to her faith and her country. And she loved everybody. She was the most amazing person I’d ever met, and I will always miss her.”

“Sabika’s case should become an example to change the gun laws,” Aziz Sheikh, Sabika’s father, told Reuters.  “I want this to become a base on which the people over there can stand and pass a law to deal with this. I’ll do whatever I can,” he said from Pakistan.

“One should not lose his heart by such kind of incidents,” he told the Associated Press. “One should not stop going for education to the U.S. or U.K., or China, or anywhere. One must go for education undeterred. But controlling such incidents is the responsibility of the respective governments.”

Sabika was in the U.S. as an exchange student under the YES program sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

Former Houston City Council member, M.J. Khan emceed the eulogies and prefaced by reminding everyone of the other nine children that were killed in the Santa Fe shooting and to offer prayers for them as well: 

“When you offer your prayers today, I know each and every one of you is mourning. Remember Aaron McLeod. Remember Christopher J. Stone. Remember Jared Black. Remember Christian Riley Garcia. Remember Angelique Ramirez. Remember Shauna Fisher. Remember Kimberly Vaughn. And the two teachers: Cynthia Tisdale and Glenda Perkins. And remember our beloved daughter, Sabika Sheikh.

After the Houston services, her body was sent home to Pakistan. Her father was at the Karachi  airport today (May 23) to receive her.

(Views from the Edge contributed to this report.)

_________________________________________________________________________________

Pakistani exchange student killed in Texas school shooting

SABIKA SHEIKH

ASAM NEWS

AN EXCHANGE STUDENTfrom Pakistan is among the 10 people killed when a gunman went on a shooting spree at Santa Fe High School near Houston Friday (May 18) morning.

The Pakistani Embassy in Washington D.C. confirmed that Sabika Sheikh has been identified among the nine students and one teacher killed, reports Gulf Today.

Sabina is one of 75 students from Pakistan to participate in the Youth Exchange and Study Abroad program.

“Please know that the YES programme is devastated by this loss and we will remember Sabika and her families in our thoughts and prayers,” Lysaght wrote.

Sheikh father found out about his daughter’s death watching the news in Pakistan on CNN, according to The News

“I kept calling her and sent her messages on WhatsApp. Never before had my daughter failed to reply,” said her tearful father, Abdul Aziz.

“We are still in a state of denial. It is like a nightmare.”

Actress Mindy Kaling expressed her condolences on Twitter.

Police have arrested 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis and have charged him with capital murder and aggravated assault. Authorities say he used guns -- a shotgun and a revolver -- he got from his father in the shooting spree.

The Texas shootings occurred months after a shooting rampage at Marjorie Douglas Stonman High School in Florida where 17 were killed.

The year is not even half over and already, there have been more deaths in US school shootings so far in 2018 than there have been deaths in the U.S. military, according to an analysis by the Washington Post.

Earlier this month Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, a Republican, spoke in front of the NRA convention and said,  "The problem is not guns, it's hearts without God," Abbott said at the time, according to The Texas Observer.

After the high school shooting, on Friday, Abbott called for gun laws . "We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families," The governor will begin holding roundtable discussions next week with "stakeholders to begin to work immediately on swift solutions to prevent tragedies like these from ever happening again," according to the Dallas Morning News.

(Views From the Edge contributed to this report.)______________________________________________________________________________

March For Our Lives: The children shall lead us

BOSTON GLOBE

Petrina Chan took part in the March For Our Lives rally in Boston.

THE MARCH FOR OUR LIVES demonstrations and rallies occurred throughout the U.S. and in cities around the globe Sunday inspired by a gunman's rampage through Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that took 17 lives.

Sen. Kamala Harris joined the students in the March For Our Lives.

"The students from Stoneman Douglas have turned their mourning into a movement — and I genuinely believe they have changed the conversation about gun violence in America," said California Sen. Kamala Harris.

"From here, we need to look to our youth for inspiration. They are teaching all of us so many lessons on activism and action in the face of tragedy. I wish Congressional leaders had their courage and determination to stand up to the gun lobby," said Harris, whose parents come from India and the Caribbean.

According to its website, March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of the seventeen lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now. 

A half-century after Bob Dylan's iconic "The Times They Are A-Changin" inspired a generation of young people to march against the Vietnam War, for civil rights and question anybody over 30. the 60's anthem gained new meaning to the Baby Boomers' grandchildlren, young students who took part in the March for Our Lives Sunday (Mar. 24).

With the opening stanza, "Come gather now children wherever you are," the song was a perfect message to the young kids taking part in the gun-control demonstration. Sung by Jennifer Hudson, whose mother, brother and seven-year-old nephew were all shot dead in 2008,, the performnce was an emotional highlight to a day full of powerful moments. 

Parkland student Emma Gonzalez created a powerful statement with her silence at the Washington D.C. march. 

"Six minutes and about 20 seconds," Emma said, tears flowing down her cheeks. "In a little over 6 minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured and everyone in the Douglas community was forever altered."

So young, yet so meaninful speeches were given throughout thet day: Parkland student David Hogg: “We are going to make this the voting issue. We are going to take this to every election, to every state and every city. When politicians send their thoughts and prayers with no action, we say, ‘No more.’ And to those politicians supported by the NRA, that allow the continued slaughter of our children and our future, I say get your resumes ready.”

Fellow student Cameron Kasky read aloud the names of victims of the shooting, " We hereby promise to fix the broken system we’ve been forced into and create a better world for the generations to come. Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Kasky said.

Martin Luther King's 9-year old granddaughter Yolanda King recalled her grandfather's famous "I Have A Dream" speech: “My grandfather had a dream that his four little children will not be judged by the color of the skin, but the content of their character. I have a dream that enough is enough."

“I am here today to acknowledge and represent the African-American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper. These stories don’t lead on the evening news,” said 11-year old Naomi Wadler at the Washington D.C. march.“My school will now always be remembered for what took place on Feb. 14, 2018,” said Leslie Chiu, a graduate of Stoneman Douglas who attends Northeastern University in Boston.

Her alma mater will be known, Chiu said, as the place that “started the movement that we are a part of today.”

“Our generation will carry with us the weight and burden of countless lives lost and we will take it upon ourselves to ensure that on their behalf that we are the last ones in this environment of daily shootings,” she said.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The Parkland students led the organizing but were soon joined by hundreds of incredible students across the country.

MIRASHAYE BASA

One of them is Mirashaye Basa, 18 of southern Indiana.

"I started becoming more politically aware after the 2016 presidential election. So many of the tragedies that we see in the news and on social media are becoming normalized, and that is not acceptable. There needs to be action. My good friend Eli and I are very passionate about music and theatre, so we decided to contribute to the March for Our Lives movement by using our talents to make a video that calls attention to those who have been affected by gun violence. 

"We proposed the idea at a March for Our Lives meeting and posted it on social media to help raise awareness," she said.

"As a high school student, sometimes it’s hard to find ways to make an impact on a large scale, but this movement has made me feel like anything is possible. The students in Parkland are so inspiring; they’ve used and continue to use their voices effectively. I hope the leaders of the country are influenced by the masses of people who demand action instead of the money they receive from interest groups. 

"In the future, I hope we have gun control so effective that we never have a mass shooting ever again."

MADISON PHAN

One of the biggest turnouts for the march was held in Los Angeles. One of the amazing student organizers was Madison "Madi" Phan., a jurnior at North Torrance Hhigh School.

Interviewed by Smart Girls, we learn that Madi has given a TED talk to kids in her district, been a member of ASB, and was a Girl Scout for six years. Currently, Madi is involved in her school’s theatre and dance program, on the student panel group, and is in GATE progr

In the future, Madi wants to be part of the film industry to give Asians and Asian-Americans more representation in Hollywood. She would also like to provide assistance to those in developing countries. 

Helping to make a change in society and the world is something Madi is passionate about and hopes for more amazing opportunities like participating in the March For Our Lives.

“Gun violence is something that impacts us all, whether directly or indirectly,” said Rhiannon Rasaretnam, a Seattle March For Our Lives organizer told the Seattle Times. “This is about us stepping up and not waiting for adults to take action on issues that risk our lives every single day.”

_____________________________________________________________________________