Authorities Respond After Multiple Students Shot at Santa Clarita, California High School

A high school in Santa Clarita, California, was on lockdown Thursday morning after multiple students were shot and police hunted for the gunman. A massive police presence responded to Saugus High School, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. Authorities told local news outlets that at least seven students had been injured, with aerial coverage showing multiple children being loaded into ambulances outside the school. Armed police were walking with stretches.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department tweeted about the incident shortly before 8 a.m. PT, asking people to avoid the area and describing the suspect as an Asian male wearing “black clothing” and last seen at Saugus High School. As of 8 a.m. PT, the suspect was still at large.

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station tweeted that “as a precaution,” all schools in the William S. Hart Union High School District were being put on lockdown, including the nearby Rosedell and Highland elementary schools. The district has about 20,000 students.

The office also described the situation as an “active shooter situation.”

The Los Angeles County Fire Department told CBS Los Angeles that at least seven people were being treated for various injuries. It’s unclear how many of those people had been shot. There was one victim who was found wounded in the school choir room. ABC7 reports that one of the victims was struck in the stomach.

Classes had not gotten underway when the shooting occurred, so the campus was not completely full.

The sheriff’s office asked residents who live near Saugus High School to lock their doors and stay inside, and to call 911 if they saw anyone matching the suspect description.

The office also said that Central Park on Bouquet Canyon Road was being used as a reunification point for parents.

This story is ongoing. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for more information.

Photo credit: Ted Soqui / Contributor / Getty