On a clear autumn day, students at Saugus High School looked forward to the holidays, to Friday night’s “Cheer-a-thon” for campus spirit squads and to Saturday’s Sadie Hawkins Dance.
The rites of high school remained intact on the 2,500-student campus in Santa Clarita until the arrival Thursday morning of an enigmatic and troubled classmate, dressed in black, who would soon reprise a new American ritual.