RENO, Nev. – An eighth grader has been arrested for randomly shooting two classmates at Pine Middle School.
The incident occurred outside the cafeteria, just before 9 a.m. on March 14. After the shots were fired, a female gym teacher who heard the gunfire from a nearby room confronted the 14-year-old male suspect and persuaded him to put down his gun. According to police, when the boy put the .38-caliber pistol he was carrying on the ground, the teacher bear-hugged him until school administrators arrived.
The teacher is being hailed as a hero for deescalating the situation by talking and empathizing with the suspect. According to police, she requested her name not be released to the public.
Both shooting victims, one male and one female, were also eighth graders and were treated and released shortly after the incident. The boy was shot in the arm and chest. The girl sustained a minor wound to her leg. Authorities said neither had quarreled with the suspect prior to the incident. A motive for the shooting has not been determined.
Currently, the suspect is being held at the Washoe County Jail on $150,000 bond and has been charged with attempted murder. He will be tried as an adult.
After the incident, the school was briefly locked down. Classes were then cancelled for the rest of the day.
