Teen Sentenced After A Gun In His Backpack Fired At Classmates
LONG BEACH (CBS) —A Gardena High School student was sentenced to nine months in juvenile camp today after bringing a gun to campus that discharged in his backpack and injured two students.
According to police and prosecutors, the boy -- whose name has not been released because of his age -- carried a loaded 9 mm Beretta in his backpack to school on January 18, 2011. At 10:40 a.m. while in class, he reached inside the backpack and the gun fired a single bullet striking a 15-year-old boy in the neck and hitting a 15-year-old girl in the head. Both had to be hospitalized.
Long Beach Juvenile Court Judge Deborah Andrews imposed the term after the 17-year-old teen admitted one felony count each of possessing a firearm in a school zone and discharging a firearm in a school zone, according to Jane Robison of the District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors unsuccessfully sought to have him tried as an adult.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Los Angeles Unified School District Deputy Superintendent John Deasy said the district would conduct an assessment of all its high schools to ensure security procedures are being enforced.
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