Two Dead In School Shooting

A 15-year-old freshman reportedly opened fire at his high school near San Diego Monday, killing two students and injuring 13 other people, mostly youths.

The alleged shooter was arrested at the scene at Santana High School, CBS News Correspondent Jerry Bowen reports.

"We have one suspect in custody," said sheriff's spokesman Ron Reina shortly after the shooting.

Both of the dead were juveniles, and at least two of those shot were campus supervisors at the school, Sheriff William Kolender said.

"I looked at the kid, and he was smiling and shooting his weapon," said Sharp, who described the weapon as a handgun with a large barrel.

A hospital spokeswoman says a 15-year-old male student died in the emergency room shortly after the shooting. The other victim was dead at the scene, a fire department spokesman said.

"This guy comes out and was pointing the gun right at us and started firing, but it was so quiet I didn't think it was a gun," one student said. "But then I saw my friend lying on the ground with blood in his mouth."

Students were evacuated to a nearby shopping center parking lot where they waited anxiously for parents to arrive. Paramedics took away the injured.

A fourteenth student was released after being treated for injuries sustained after crashing a car while fleeing the campus.

When surrounded by deputis and a police officer in a boy's restroom, the gunman dropped his .22-caliber revolver, put his hands up and said, "It's only me."

Student Neil O'Grady, 15, said the suspected gunman had talked to him and other friends over the weekend about a shooting at the school, but they didn't take him seriously.

"He was telling us how he was going to bring a gun to school … but we thought he was joking," O'Grady said. "We were like, 'Yeah, right."'

The suspect was regularly picked on and recently had two skateboards stolen from him, O'Grady said. "He always gets picked on; he's scrawny, he's little. People think he's dumb."

Another friend of the suspect, Joshua Stevens, 15, was taken into custody for questioning because of things the suspect had told him, said Chris Reynolds, the boyfriend of Stevens' mother.

Reynolds, 29, said the suspect had talked about bringing a gun to school when he spent the night at his house Saturday. Reynolds said he didn't think the boy was serious.

"I'm upset with myself for not doing anything," Reynolds said. "I made a bad choice."

Reynolds said the suspect lives with his father, and that his mother lives out of state.

"I even mentioned Columbine to him. I said I don't want a Columbine here at Santana. But he said ,'No, nothing will happen, I'm just joking,'" Reynolds said.

"He was telling me, 'No I wouldn't be stupid and do something like that.' He told me the guns were locked up, but I guess that wasn't true."

The district attorney said that when the boy is arraigned later this week, he will be charged as an adult. If convicted, he could face life in prison, but not the death penalty.

President Bush on Monday condemned the shooting as a "disgraceful act of cowardice".

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the parents and teachers and children whose lives have been turned upside down right now," Mr. Bush said.

It was the largest number of dead and wounded in a school shooting since the killings at Columbine High School in Colorado nearly two years ago.

Santana High School, about 10 miles northeast of San Diego, opened its doors to students for the first time on Sept. 20, 1965. It serves more that 1,900 students in grades nine through twelve.

School has been cancelled for Tuesday.

Several students cried as they left the school after the shooting.

Student Alicia Zimmer saw a boy lying face down on the floor, a girl with blood on her arm and another with blood on her hands, she said.

She said she heard shots but didn't see a shooter. "They sounded more like a capgun," she said of the noise.

One student said, "The kids were in hallways at the time, switching classes, then there was gunfire and screaming was heard. Some people at first thought it as a joke."

Zimmer said she was ten feet away from the victims and saw a boy laying on the floor with his face down and another girl with blood on her arm.

"We heard more shots going off … I froze … my boyfriend pushed me out of the way and we started to run," she said. "Everybody was running, a whole lot of people were crying."

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