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It’s Happened Again: Shots Ring Out In Taft California High School
The suspected sole gunman, a 16-year-old boy, was arrested by police who arrived at Taft Union High School in inland Kern County about a minute after being called, said County Sheriff Donny Youngblood.
The incident comes less than four weeks after shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that shocked the nation and has fuelled a heated national debate over gun control.
The latest shooting unfolded yesterday morning at the only senior high school in Taft, a city of about 10,000 people. One student critically wounded by gunfire was airlifted to a nearby hospital.
The identity of the shooter, who police say walked into a class in progress and opened fire, was not immediately released. The suspect apparently had a disagreement with the student who was critically injured.
The assailant called out the name of another intended target, who was also a student in the class, and he shot at that person, but missed, said Mr Youngblood.
The suspected shooter was arrested after a teacher and a school administrator who confronted him persuaded the boy to put his gun down. Students fled the class while the two adults pacified the shooter.
"The heroics of these two people, it goes without saying," Mr Youngblood said. "To stand there and face someone that has a shotgun, who's already discharged it and shot a student, it speaks volumes for these two young men."
The shooter had up to 20 shotgun rounds in his pocket and there were more than 20 students in the classroom, the authorities said. The teacher, who has not been named, was hit in the head with a shotgun pellet, but was not seriously wounded.
The suspected gunman lives near the school, and he arrived late to campus, said Mr Youngblood. A resident near the school saw him walking toward the campus armed with a shotgun and called the authorities, the Sheriff added.
An armed police officer is normally assigned to Taft Union High School but was not able to make it to work yesterday because of snow on the roads, Mr Youngblood said. Reuters
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