16-year-old gunman opened fire in high school, two dead, several injured

A 16-year-old student of California high school killed two and wounded three others with 0.45 caliber semiautomatic handgun. According to the school authorities, the student pulled a gun from his backpack and fired on fellow students as classes began on Thursday.

He then turned the gun on himself. It was his 16th birthday.

The teen gunman survived the self-inflicted gunshot to the head and was in grave condition, law enforcement officials said.

The police are investigating and searching for what drove the student towards the rampage at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, which is about 65kms north of Los Angeles.

After the tragedy of this gunshot incident, Saugus joins the list of 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.

"How do we come out of tragedy? We need to say 'No more!' This is a tragic event. It happens too frequently," said Captain Robert Lewis of Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station, striking an emotional note in an otherwise somber news conference.

The suspected gunman remained unidentified. Police said he acted alone. They searched for his family home and found no further danger.

The two students killed were a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. Two others wounded were girls, aged 14 and 15, Captain Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told a news conference.

"Video clearly shows the subject in the quad, withdraw a gun from his backpack, shoot and wound five people and then shoot himself," Wegener said.

At least this could be 85th incident of gunfire on school grounds this year.