Student who brought gun to Gardena High School won't be charged with attempted murder

Law-enforcement officials said they did not expect the 17-year-old student whose gun went off in a Gardena High School classroom, injuring two classmates, to be charged with attempted murder.

Rather, the Los Angeles Police Department said he would be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

The news comes as students are set to return to the Gardena campus, which was the scene of the chaotic incident Tuesday that left the school in lockdown for hours. Grief counselors will be on hand at the school.

Prosecutors have not said when they will formally charge the boy and whether he will be charged as an adult. Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that part of the investigation was centering on whether the teen had been the subject of bullying. Some friends said he had brought the gun to school for protection.

The two wounded students, both 15, were taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where a girl who had been shot in the head underwent lengthy surgery. She was in critical condition with a skull fracture and brain trauma. A boy who had been shot in the neck was listed as stable; his wound is not considered life-threatening.

Police said the two might have been struck by a single bullet. The gun apparently went off in the classroom when the teen put down his backpack.

The Los Angeles Unified School District is expected on Wednesday to take up the issue of whether security and weapons screenings need to be updated.

Steven Zipperman, the school district's police chief, told the school board Tuesday that it was possible the 17-year-old suspect was not checked for weapons.

District officials have required searches since 1993, largely leaving principals to decide the details of when and where to conduct them. Incoming Supt. John Deasy said he convened a meeting Tuesday with school and district staff members to consider whether the policy should be updated.

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Photo: A student is searched before entering the Gardena High School campus on Wednesday morning. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[anonymous]

Thank goodness for the recovery of these students, what a horrific experience for themselves and their parents. (a nightmare that lingers in all parents minds, what if a student brings a gun to their child's school). What can a student do, if he feel unsafe at school or walking home, seeing thugs, gangs, unruly kids, being bullied, no one understands his concern. Is there anywhere in the school a child can feel safe reporting this or a survey might be good every month or dialoug during lunch time? Sometimes parents don't realize their childrens fears until it is too late, this goes for the fears of students worried what is in another child's backpack. No one has time the school is overpopulated with less staff, It's time to make time regardless.

[anonymous]

Until further investigation, NO BACKPACKS ALLOWED IN SCHOOL, better safe than sorry. Expeditiously installing at all entrances metal dectors with camaras, and alarms.

[Mcgibby]

Yeah, don't charge anyone with the crime they commit, especially if they're from a bad neighborhood. I mean, all of the gangbangers that L.A. is so heavily invested in are only trying to protect themselves; they fear for their lives. Lucky kid, he brought a gun to school and shot two of his classmates "accidentally" pulling the trigger, as that is the only way the gun would have fired.

[Mcgibby]

After reading the various comments, I'm certain of one thing: this city is comprised of some of the most idiotic, bleeding heart, irrational people I could ever imagine. Oh, and the word ignorant/ignorance, used so cleverly by those that I'm referring to, is precisely what those reflect.

[Rose]

This young man and those two "law biding" young adults who aided him should be expelled from this school permanently. The three of them and their families can come up with the money to pay for the medical bills these 2 other kids that were shot.

Let their parents pay for their education..then maybe they will keep a viligiant eye on their offspring when they have to come up with the money to try and educate them.

Schools are meant for learning...not for hoodlums...not for hoodlum sidekicks...these kind of people do nothing but destroy our society

School should be a safe haven for learning and growing...not a war zone.

[Mark]

Why is this girl who was shot in the head not receiving the support and attention that Giffords is getting? Apparently the President and mass media believe that Gifford's life is more valuable. If anything, this poor girl should elicit MORE sympathy. She was just an innocent student minding her own business, whereas Giffords chose the life of a Congresswoman. Everybody knows that elected officials are in the public eye. There is always the danger of some maniac putting them in the crosshairs. Just sayin...