LOS ANGELES — A gun in a 10th-grader’s backpack discharged Tuesday when he dropped the bag, wounding two students at a high school, including one who remained in critical condition, police said.

A 15-year-old girl with a head wound underwent hours of surgery at Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said Dr. Gail V. Anderson Jr. A 15-year-old boy was in serious condition with neck and shoulder wounds.

Both were hit with the same bullet, Los Angeles deputy police chief Patrick Gannon said.

John Deasy, deputy superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said there was no indication the student had touched the gun before it discharged.

“He literally dropped his knapsack on the desk and it went off,” Deasy said.

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Gannon said the student apologized before running to another classroom.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry,’ when the gun went off. It made it appear to the teacher that it was an accident,” Gannon said.

Still, Los Angeles police Lt. John Pasquariello said it was a crime to bring a gun to campus. The unidentified student was arrested and charges were pending, he said.

“We don’t know exactly what happened,” he said. “Traditionally, guns don’t go off without someone’s finger on the trigger.”

The shooting occurred in a classroom at Gardena High School, where Principal Rudy Mendoza said students were on a break at the time. The campus was locked down after the incident. Police initially reported a shooter was at large.

Numerous law enforcement agencies responded to the 2,400-student campus about 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

Nelda Robledo said her 16-year-old daughter texted her that students were ordered to get down on the ground or hide.

 


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