California middle school student, 12, shoots 13-year-old

A 12-year-old boy is in custody and a 13-year-old recovering in a hospital after a gun came into play during a schoolyard quarrel, police in Oakland, Calif., said Monday.

Police were still trying to discern a motive for the shooting outside Madison Park Academy after being called to the school at about 1:30 p.m., KPIX-TV reported.

Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong told reporters that the victim, 13, was stable after the shooting Monday afternoon at Madison Park Academy.

“It saddens me to think a kid would bring a gun to school,” Oakland police chief LeRonne Armstrong told reporters, according to NBC News. “No parent wants to send their kids to school in the day and then be called saying, ‘You’re kid’s been shot.’ It’s the worst call you can get.”

Meanwhile, residents of yet another town tasted trauma as kids dove under desks and parents rushed to the school to fetch their children.

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“A loud boom went off,” seventh grader Zacary Mason-Roa told KPIX-TV. “I thought it was firecrackers until I heard the coaches screaming.”

High school senior Roman Guerrero said the teachers’ reactions told him it was not a drill.

“We know it wasn’t a joke because the principal, her voice started shaking, and it was a lot to take in, you know,” the student told the outlet. “Everybody was scared. We didn’t know what to do. They just told us to get under our desks and follow procedures until everything started quieting down.”

The school was locked down and evacuated.

“Our hearts are with the student who suffered this awful injury and their family,” the Oakland Unified School District said in a statement late Monday night. “Violence across our nation and here in Oakland has been on the rise, and this is an example of how problems in the community can reach into the schools. We must come together to address guns and violence in our Oakland community and with our youth.”

Educators were “shaken, sad, horrified, and stressed,” the teacher’s union said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press. “Educators have major concerns over the resources that are readily available to support the needs of our students. Our public schools should be safe havens for students, free from the fear of gun violence.”

With News Wire Services