Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 22, 1993 TAG: 9301220212
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
GUN ACCIDENT KILLS 1 AT SCHOOL
A powerful handgun taken to school by a teen-ager who feared gangs fired accidentally in a class Thursday, killing one student and wounding a second, police said.The .357-caliber Magnum fired when a 15-year-old reached into his book bag, said police Detective Dennis Coyne. The bullet passed through one student's chest and struck and killed a 16-year-old boy at Fairfax High School.
The armed youth apologized to about 30 classmates and waited for police, teacher Charles Schwartz said. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to do it," students quoted the 15-year-old as saying.
While Schwartz initially speculated that poor grades in the English class may have led to the gunfire, detectives said the shooting was apparently unintentional.
"It was a tragic accident. It is a result of a gang problem," said Coyne, explaining that the 15-year-old apparently feared gang members and took the gun to school for protection.
Gangs have plagued the campus, eight miles west of downtown, for years.
"There was a bang. I saw one student down, then another student down," Schwartz said. He said other students remained seated and were "extremely calm" until he ordered them out of the room.
"I was petrified. I was crying," said Mitra Shafighi, 15, who went to the side of the wounded 17-year-old boy. "He was saying, `I'm hurt. God help me.' "
The gunman, whose identity wasn't disclosed, was arrested minutes later and taken to a juvenile hall. The weapon was confiscated, said Officer Bob Cox.
Students said the youth had been brandishing the gun on campus, bragging about it to impress classmates and frighten enemies.
"It's crazy how someone can just come in a classroom and start shooting," said 10th-grader Asia Ahmonuel, 15. "Everybody's packing guns [at school]. . . . Sometimes they'll lift up their shirts and you can see it. You can walk around school with a gun for hours and nothing will happen."
The wounded student was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Doctors said his prognosis was good, said hospital spokeswoman Peggy Frank Shaff.
The ninth-grade English students were enrolled in a 20-day winter session. Many were taking freshman English for a second time to qualify for graduation, Principal Michael O'Sullivan said.
Keywords:
FATALITY