California community steps up support amid mourning at Saugus High
Less than 24 hours after two students were killed in a shooting at Saugus High School in Southern California, the surrounding community stepped up to support a school in shock and mourning.
Students from other high schools in the area and a pizza shop decided to raise funds for the families of victims in Santa Clarita:
Rival schools rock Saugus colors during football game
A Friday playoff football game between Long Beach Wilson and West Ranch High featured students wearing Centurion blue, the mascot and color of Saugus High, according to CNN affiliate KCAL.
One of the schools took the field with Saugus’ flag.
“Everybody’s in the same school district, so when it hits one of our schools it hits all of our schools,” student Dyland McBeth told KCAL.
Friday’s game also featured a handwritten message banner and a halftime vigil balloon release, KCAL reported.
Pizza restaurant raises money for Saugus
A fundraiser originally meant for Saugus’ soccer team switched gears.
Video from KCAL showed Vincenzo’s Pizza filled with people wearing Centurion blue.
“I did not expect this,” LeAnn Wills, Vincenzo’s owner, told the station. “I had a woman come in this morning at opening and order some food and hand me a check for $1,000 made out to Saugus.”
Wills did not attend Saugus; she told the affiliate she went to a rival high school.
“Tonight, we’re all Centurions,” she said, adding that 20% of their earnings were going to victims and families.
Girl creates, sells T-shirts for victim families
Ashley Sontos, 17, doesn’t attend Saugus; she attends the crosstown rival West Ranch, CNN affiliate KABC reported.
So when the shooting took place, she told KABC, Sontos decided to design Saugus T-shirts because she felt “like I needed to put my efforts into doing something.”
The T-shirts feature the Saugus mascot with the words “We stand with Saugus High” above.
“It felt collective and we weren’t going to let something tear our entire community, especially the Saugus community, down,” Ashley said.
She told KABC that 100% of the proceeds will go to the families of the victims, and 55 shirts were sold as far as Virginia within the first 24 hours of the sale.
