The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has declined to press criminal charges related to the Saugus High Shooting nearly a year after the tragedy, officials said Friday.
On the morning of Nov. 14, 2019, the landscape of the Santa Clarita community was “forever changed” when 16-year-old Nathaniel Berhow walked into the quad of Saugus High School, pulled a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun from his backpack, and opened fire, according to Sheriff’s officials.
Two students, 15-year-old Gracie Muehlberger and 14-year-old Dominic Blackwell, were killed as a result of the shooting. Three other students were injured before Berhow turned the gun on himself, resulting in his death the next day.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau was investigating Berhow’s mother, Mami Matsuura-Berhow, in connection to how the high school student obtained the “ghost gun” used in the shooting.
Homicide detectives presented charges of criminal storage of a firearm and contributing to the delicacy of a minor, according to investigators.
On Oct. 23, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined the charges due to insufficient evidence, confirmed Greg Risling, spokesperson for the office on Friday.
A week after the shooting, investigators determined that the .45 caliber pistol used was a kit gun, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
“The weapon used in the homicide was a kit gun, it was assembled from parts and had no serial number,” Villanueva said in a press conference at the time.
“Ghost guns are untraceable weapons that have been used in mass shootings throughout the country and right here in California — from Santa Monica in 2013, to Tehama County in 2017, and at Saugus High School just last year,” said Attorney General Becerra in a statement. “We can’t afford to wait for another tragedy to happen before we take action. It’s time for ATF to prioritize the safety of our communities by calling these products what they are: firearms, and regulating them accordingly.”
Without a commercial serial number and available for purchase without a background check, “ghost guns” are not currently considered subject to ATF regulation under the Gun Control Act due to the fact that the receiver, which houses all internal components including the barrel and trigger mechanism, are not finished at the time of purchase.
The parents of the victims, Bryan Muehlberger and Frank Blackwell, joined Becerra in September to advocate for a lawsuit to increase legislation on “ghost guns.”
There is still no clear motive for the Saugus High Shooting one year later.
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