Police declare Los Angeles school shooting an accident

The shooting at a Los Angeles middle school that injured four students Thursday was an accident, police said after interviewing the 12-year-old suspect. The girl, who has not been identified, told investigators she brought the semi-automatic handgun to school in her backpack. It fired accidentally when she dropped the bag during class. The girl remains in custody at a juvenile facility and faces a charge of negligently discharging a firearm on school grounds. Police have not said where she got the gun or why she brought it to school. School district policy requires every middle and high school campus to conduct daily, random searches with metal detectors throughout the day. Salvador B. Castro Middle School has about 365 students in grades 6–8. Three of the shooting victims suffered minor injuries. The most critically hurt, a 15-year-old boy, suffered a gunshot wound to his temple. But doctors said the bullet did not hit anything vital. They described him as “incredibly lucky” and said they expect him to make a full recovery.