Los Angeles school shooting 'happened by accident when teenager dropped a gun', police say
A school shooting that sent two teenagers to the hospital with gunshot wounds appears to have been an accident, police said.
Two schools in Los Angeles were locked down for much of the day after authorities responded to gun shots and took a 12-year-old girl into custody. After interviewing her, police said it appeared that a firearm she brought to school went off unintentionally.
“This continues to be an active investigation; however at this time, the information suggests it was an isolated incident involving the negligent discharge of a firearm, where innocent children and a staff member were unfortunately injured,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a press release.
The girl, whose name is not being released because she is a minor, was booked on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm. A classmate recounted her telling him that the gun went off when she dropped the backpack it was in, crying and repeating “I didn’t mean it”, the Associated Press reported of Thursday’s incident.
As authorities sought to reassure anxious parents, a theme for the investigation quickly emerged: how a student was able to bring a firearm into school. School officials pledged to probe how it might have happened.
“As a community we have to examine what is it that would make a child want to come to school with a gun,” interim Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent Vivian Ekchian said.
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer noted that there are legal consequences for adults allowing children to obtain firearms.
“My office prosecutes adults when kids gain access to guns that haven’t been safely stored. We do so for good reason — safely storing firearms saves lives,” Mr Feuer said in a statement.
A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head and a 15-year-old girl was struck in the wrist, injuries that authorities said were not life-threatening. Three others received medical treatment for non-gunshot injuries.
