Student apologized to classmates after his gun went off, hitting two students

Andrew Blankstein and Victoria Kim

Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

1:11 PM PST, January 18, 2011

Two Gardena High School students were injured when a gun in a student's backpack accidentally discharged about 10:40 a.m.

One girl was shot in the head, and is in grave condition at a hospital. The other victim, a boy, was wounded in the shoulder. According to Robert Alaniz, an LAUSD spokesman, the gun discharged when a 10th grade boy either dropped or bumped the backpack containing the weapon.

Sources told The Times that after the gun went off, the student who brought it to school apologized to his classmates before running out of the classroom.

He surrendered to police in a dramatic end to a standoff after two fellow students were shot at Gardena High School. Initial reports had said that three students had been shot.

The shooting occurred about 10:30 a.m. on the campus at 1301 W. 182nd St.

LAPD Captain Steve Zipperman said, "It appears to be a possible accidental discharge." He thinks the gun could have accidentally gone off. When asked about how the gun could've gotten past the school's metal detectors, Zipperman said officials were looking into how the backpack got into the school.