Here’s how you can help the families of the slain Saugus High students
As the families of Gracie Anne Muehlberger, 15, and Dominic Blackwell, 14, cope with the loss of their children at the hand of the Saugus High School shooter, the public has an opportunity to assist them with final expenses and provide for memorials.
GoFundMe accounts have been established in those students’ names.
“Our mission is to find a way to memorialize our baby girl – Gracie Anne Muehlberger. We are in discussions about the best way to do this,” her father, Bryan Muehlberger, wrote on his daughter’s page, which is titled Gracie Anne Muehlberger.
On Dominic’s page, titled Dominic Michael Blackwell, organizer Pam Moore-Hall wrote, “On November 14, 2019, this world lost a bright, shining light … personified by a goofy laugh, cheesy smile, and a huge, caring heart. He was taken from his family and friends in the most senseless of ways. His three brothers will miss their big brother greatly, and his parents’ dreams for him will never be realized. … The family wishes to express appreciation for all ofthe love and support of the community in the aftermath of this tragic event.”
Grace Baptist Church will be collecting donations to provide to the families of those who died in Thursday’s shooting at Saugus High School. The recipients will include the mother of Nathaniel Berhow, the suspected shooter, said senior pastor David Hegg.
She is “as much a victim,” the pastor said, and may be feeling like a “pariah in this world, for a long time.” Berhow’s father died two years ago.
Hegg said the services had been themed around Thanksgiving, and he will discuss Psalm 100. But he will address the practice of gratitude in the context of what happened at the school on Thursday.
“How do we be thankful in an evil and broken world?” asks Hegg, who describes himself as a conservative evangelical and who teaches at Master’s Univerity in Santa Clarita.
“There are no answers that are going to take away the pain,” he said.
He noted that people may worry about going back to regular life and expressing gratitude at such a time.
But, he said, “Normalcy doesn’t mean forgetting.”
Grace Baptist is at 22833 Copperhill Drive in Santa Clarita. Services are scheduled for 9 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. on Sunday.
A vigil, entitled “Saugus Strong,” will be held at Central Park on Bouquet Canyon Road Sunday at 7 p.m. The vigil will take place on Field 2, in the same location as the City’s Concerts in the Park events.
Please check this story online over the next few days for additional ways to help.