An argument between two students, aged 13 and 15, escalated into a gunfight on the grounds of a middle school on Tuesday, critically wounding both boys in New Orleans. Witnesses told police that, after an argument, the 13-year-old got a gun from someone who passed the weapon through a fence. The 13-year-old shot the 15-year-old, then, the latter grabbed the gun and shot the former, Police Spokesman Lt Marlon Defillo said. Police recovered a .38-caliber revolver believed to have been used in the shooting at Carter G Woodson middle school in New Orleans. They did not immediately release the names of the two students.
The younger boy will be charged with attempted murder, the spokesman said. The boy accused of providing the handgun was being sought, he said. He was recently expelled from the school for fighting. The shooting happened just before noon in a passageway between the school cafeteria and the main building.
Both students appeared conscious when they were taken by separate ambulances to a hospital, said David Bowser, a police spokesman. They were both listed in critical condition after undergoing surgery, said hospital spokeswoman Jean Patterson. The 15-year-old was shot in the chest, while the 13-year- old was shot in the back, Patterson said.
“Several fights had been reported at the school in the past few weeks, but it was unclear whether the shooting was related to the fights,” Bowser said.
Bureau Report