Saugus High School in Santa Clarita reopens its campus: ‘So much support and a lot of hugs’

Saugus High School on Tuesday reopened its doors to students, allowing them to retrieve books and backpacks left behind when a schoolmate opened fire in the quad last Thursday, killing two students and injuring three others.

The gunfire sent hundreds of kids fleeing from the Santa Clarita school. Some hopped fences to get off campus. Others were barricaded in classrooms.

Now, on Tuesday morning, returning to the site for the first time stirred up raw emotions.

“It was rough, walking past the place where this horrible thing just happened,” said senior Kendylan Lupold as she clutched a newly retrieved binder of schoolwork. “But we’re getting so much support, and a lot of hugs.”

Police say Nathaniel Berhow, 16, shot five of his fellow students before turning the gun on himself. Gracie Muehlberger, 15, and Dominic Blackwell, 14, died hours after the shooting.

Two 14-year-old victims, a girl and boy, went home from the hospital last week. A 15-year-old girl was released from Providence Holy Cross Medical Center on Monday night, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The campus will be open the rest of this week, offering optional activities ranging from group counseling sessions to art and board games. Staff will receive specific post-trauma training. Regular classes are scheduled to resume after Thanksgiving break on Dec. 2.

On Tuesday, students found their belongings neatly organized at desks and lockers. In the quad, two dozen counselors passed out candy and chatted with the teens. Some Los Angeles Unified School District staffers were also on site.

“If you were to step onto campus, you would see there are law enforcement officials, mental health professionals, teachers, administrators and parents – everybody there supporting students,”  Hart School District Deputy Superintendent Mike Kuhlman told reporters, who were asked to remain on the sidewalk as the students tried to adjust to being at the school again.

But some students were willing to talk about it. Looking over a makeshift memorial of posters, flowers and candles that had grown at the school’s entrance, student body vice president Tyler Nilson, 17, said he plans to be sensitive to the students most affected.

“We discussed this morning how the quad is going to be a place of fear for some people, and recognize that when we’re planning events,” he said. “I really want to get back into our school rhythm but I know not everyone is ready.”

His classmates talked about new clubs that have formed in the wake of the shooting, many aiming at addressing mental health and post-trauma self care. Some say the incident has made them think about becoming activists on gun control.

Danielle Pane, 17, said she’s passionate about destigmatizing mental health issues. Her tight-knit group of friends had some connections to the shooter, and they hope students will prioritize openness with those struggles going forward.

“This happened because of pent up rage coming from one person who was unable to cope,” she suggested. “People need to know that this is a problem that’s happening all over and no one is really addressing it.”