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Seats left empty for Saugus shooting victims on what would've been their graduation day

By FOX 11 Digital Team
Published  June 1, 2023 12:14am PDT
Saugus High School Shooting
FOX 11

Seats left empty for Saugus shooting victims

At the Saugus High School graduation ceremony, two seats were left empty to honor what would have been the year the shooting victims would have walked with their caps and gowns.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - Wednesday marked a bittersweet day for students and families at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita.

The school's graduation ceremony was held to celebrate the academic accomplishments of high school seniors. But just feet away from the graduating students were two vacant seats decorated with makeshift memorials. The two chairs were left empty in honor of Dominic Blackwell and Gracie Mehlberger, the two victims in the 2019 shooting.

Wednesday would have been the day the two students were on track to graduate. Instead, their parents were there to accept the honorary diploma in their place.

"I'm glad we had the chairs for them," said one student. "I was definitely thinking about them this whole night."

"It will always be a part of our story. I think that's important to not forget where we came from," said another classmate.

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