3 students hurt in pellet-gun incident at Granger High School; 2 taken into custody

UPDATE, 2:46 p.m.: WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Granite School District officials say three students at Granger High School were shot with an Orbeez pellet gun Tuesday in an incident on campus.

Granite School District spokesperson Ben Horsley said the incident happened in a parking lot near the school’s south entrance at around 11:45 a.m. during one of the school’s lunch periods. Three Granger students suffered minor injuries, and two suspects in the vehicle were apprehended trying to flee the school. It is believed the two suspects are also students but that they do not attend Granger.

The victims were hit in their shoulders, backs, and necks at close range. Their injuries were no more than welts, and Horsley said they decided not to seek medical attention.

“The students involved in the incident will be facing serious administrative corrective action and criminal charges,” the school said, in a statement.

In a press conference this afternoon, Horsley said the school and the district were “grateful” that the incident was not worse. He said most students never even knew an altercation happened at the time.

The school was not placed into lockdown, as the suspects were immediately taken into custody and no threat was made against the school or the general student body, district officials said.

“It was clear it wasn’t a live gun,” said Horsley.

West Valley City police said their officers assisted with a traffic stop, pulling the two suspects over near the intersection of 2400 South and Bangerter Highway, said Horsley. The suspects were arrested without incident.

A school resource officer saw the entire incident and responded immediately, initially reporting they believed the incident involved a BB gun. School officials initially told ABC4.com that the shooting involved an airsoft gun.

Roughly an hour after the incident, students could be seen at the West Valley City school going about their day as usual.

The suspects could face assault and trespassing charges. Depending on what the weapons looked like, they could possibly face charges related to bringing facsimile guns to a school campus. If the suspects are found to be students at another school, they will likely be expelled.

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