Two Students ‘Accidentally’ Shot at LA High School

From KTLA in Los Angeles:

Gardena High School is on lockdown after a shooting on campus that left at least three students wounded.

The shooting was reported in the 1300 block of West 182nd Street around 10:30 a.m. [Pacific time] Tuesday.

Gardena police say 3 students have been wounded. At least one person has been transported to a hospital.

There are reports that police know who the gunman is, but are not releasing his name, according to Gardena Police spokesman Lt. Steve Prendargast.

He is described only as a 18-year old boy. Police believe he is a student. He is believed to still be on campus.

Parents are urged to remain at home and wait for information on when they can pick up their children.

UPDATE:

Police have arrested the suspected gunman after he released a group of hostages, which included students and a teacher.

UPDATE II:

KTLA is now reporting the number of wounded stands at two (not three), and the shooting is being ruled an accident:

Gardena police say two students were wounded. Both were taken to a local hospital.

One was said to be in critical condition. The other student's condition was described as serious.

Police with guns drawn surrounded a classroom as students walked outside with their hands in the air. One young man was then placed on the ground and handcuffed. [...]

A Los Angeles Unified School District official says the shooting was accidental. The official says the student brought a gun to school in his backpack, which fell onto the ground and apparently discharged.

A teacher is being credited with talking to the student inside a classroom and convincing him to cooperate with police. [Emphasis added]

UPDATE III:

According to the Associated Press, the injured parties are students from the high school, and were wounded by a single bullet:

A Los Angeles police official says the two students wounded in a shooting at a high school were hit by one bullet that was fired when a gun in a backpack apparently went off by accident.

Deputy Chief Patrick Gannon says a 15-year-old Gardena High student was shot in the head Tuesday and is hospitalized in critical condition.

The other victim is a 15-year-old who was hit in the neck. Gannon describes it as a "through-and-through" wound.

Gannon says the student who brought the gun said he was sorry after it went off, and a teacher in the classroom said it appeared to be an accident.

The student with the gun ran to another room and police took him into custody.

UPDATE IV:

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.

 According KTLA, this isn't the first time the student brought a gun to school. One student, who called herself a "good friend" of the gun carrier, said he regularly brought the gun to school for protection after getting in a fight.

Despite the incident, many at the school praised the student suspect.

"He was a sweetheart, always smiling and hugging people," classmate Para Ross told KTLA.

This isn't the first time Gardena High School has experienced such an incident. The school was the scene of a shooting in February 2002, when three assailants tried to hold up two students in an outdoor area. Two students were shot.

In the past five years, two students have been expelled for firearms violations at Gardena High.