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12-Year-Old Allegedly Shoots Classmate At Middle School

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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A 12-year-old boy allegedly shot his 13-year-old classmate at a California school on Monday, according to a report.

The incident took place at Madison Park Academy of Engineering and Graphic Design in Oakland’s Sobrante Park neighborhood, according to Fox News. A local Fox affiliate reported that the injured student was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

An eight grader told the station her friend was shot in the stomach. “I was hanging with my friends when I heard the gunshot. At the time I didn’t know it was a gunshot,” the girl reportedly said. “I was sticking around until I heard my friend screaming. It turns out he was the one who got shot.”

Other students hid in their classrooms at the sound of gunfire, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.

“I was worried that was potentially my last moments in case he decided to go ballistic and go crazy. I texted my dad, gave him information, I texted my mom,” a 17-year-old student reportedly said. Madison Park’s website explains that the school “serves 750 students in grades 6-12” and that many of the school’s students “live in a part of East Oakland that experiences frequent trauma.”

The alleged gunman was taken into custody and the firearm used in the shooting was recovered, according to reports.

Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said “nobody is immune” from gun violence, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.

“You have heard from me over the last several weeks about a number of shootings and incidents that have happened at our schools, our playgrounds. This is impacting every area in our city. Nobody is immune from this level of gun violence,” he said.

Mayor Libby Schaaf said schools “should be the safest place for our kids,” adding that the “increased level of gun violence in our country + our city is heartbreaking and unacceptable.”

“Let me be clear: We will hold accountable those who cause harm to Oakland, and we will come together to heal from these traumatic events,” Schaaf tweeted.