At least two dead and several injured in U.S. school shooting

At least two students have been killed and three more injured after a 16-year-old suspect opened fire at a southern California high school on Thursday, the latest deadly school shooting to hit the US.

Early reports of the shooting at Saugus high school in Santa Clarita, 30 miles north of Los Angeles, came just before 8am as students were starting the school day, sending law enforcement scrambling to confront the shooter.

Six injured students, including the suspect, were recovered at the scene and moved for treatment at Henry Mayo Newhall hospital and Holy Cross hospital in Santa Clarita. Authorities later said that two victims had succumbed to their injuries.

The fatalities include a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy. Two girls, ages 14 and 15, and a 14-year-old boy remain hospitalized, officials said.

The Los Angeles county sheriff’s department said the suspect, identified as a 16-year-old male student at the high school, took a gun out of his backpack and shot five students before turning the gun on himself. Thursday was his birthday, they added. The suspect also remains hospitalized and in “grave” condition.

– Theguardian