New Mexico School Shooter May Have Warned Classmates

12-year-old allegedly shot two students

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The 12-year old accused of shooting two of his classmates at a New Mexico middle school on Tuesday may have warned some of his classmates not to come to school that day, police say.

In an ordeal that lasted only 10 seconds, police say the suspected shooter entered a gym full of students at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, N.M., pulled out a sawed-off .20-guage shotgun, and shot a 13-year old girl in the arm and an 11-year old boy in the face before a teacher apprehended him, the Albuquerque Journal reports. State Police Chief Pete Kassetas said late Tuesday that authorities had “preliminary information” that the shooter may have warned some other students not to go to school that day.

Eighth-grade social studies teacher John Masterson persuaded the suspect to put down the gun, and the child was quickly apprehended by a state police officer who happened to be dropping off his child at the school. “It was a harrowing experience,” Masterson told the Albuquerque Journal. “All I can say was the staff there did a great job.”

Both victims were airlifted to a hospital in Texas after they were first stabilized at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center. The 13-year old girl is in satisfactory condition, but the 11-year old boy was still in critical condition Tuesday night. He had undergone two surgeries for face and neck injuries.

[Albuquerque Journal]