Seventh-grader opens fire at New Mexico middle school

Two New Mexico middle school students were wounded earlier today after a seventh-grader fired a shotgun at a group of his classmates waiting for school to start.

Officials confirmed an 11-year-old boy is in critical condition and a 13-year-old girl is in serious condition. Both are at a hospital in Lubbock, Texas.

Police have not named the shooter but described him as a 12-year-old boy. As students gathered in the Berrendo Middle School gym in Roswell, N.M., to escape this morning’s cold weather, the boy walked in, pulled a gun out of a band instrument case, and opened fire. A school staff member disarmed the student by simply walking up to him and asking him to put down the gun. Police later took him into custody.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez urged people to pray for the victims.

Investigators say they don’t yet know what might have motivated the boy to shoot at fellow students. But a spokesman for University Medical Center, where the victims are being treated, said the injured boy was the target of the attack.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.