A 16-year-old high-school student armed with a shotgun opened fire Thursday at Taft Union High School in Taft, California, critically wounding one student and leading to the hospitalizations of two others. The shooter, a boy who has not been named, was arrested after two school staff members convinced him to give up his weapon. More from Reuters:
One student critically wounded by gunfire was airlifted to a nearby hospital, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said.
A second student received minor injuries while falling over a table trying the flee the classroom, and a third student was taken to a hospital complaining of hearing loss from the sound of a gun blast, Youngblood said.
The lone suspect, a 16-year-old male student, was arrested after a teacher and a school administrator who confronted him persuaded the boy to put his gun down, Youngblood told a televised news conference.
His identity was not immediately released, but police said the suspect apparently had a disagreement with the student who was critically injured.
The shooting came less than a month after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 adults.
