A 12-year-old student who was described as a "smart kid and a nice kid" is currently under arrest for the school shooting at Berrendo Middle School in New Mexico which left two students wounded on January 14.
The two student victims under medical care include an 11-year-old boy who reportedly took a shot to the face which already led to multiple surgeries. The 13-year-old female victim, identified as Kendal Sanders, is under "satisfactory" stable condition according to Lubbock University Medical Center spokesperson Eric Finley. A staff member was at the receiving end of minor injuries but refuted any immediate medical treatment to assist his students.
Students witnessed the 12-year-old boy beginning to fire shots in the school's gymnasium at around 8 a.m. after pulling out a gun from his band's instrument case. State Police Chief Pete N. Kassetas stated that there has yet to be a real motive behind the attacks, but "the boy later told hospital officials that he was the shooter's intended target," reports Daily News.
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, held a press conference immediately to address the school shooting and the reports that were known at the time. The 12-year old attacker's social studies teacher, John Masterson, was credited with talking down the attacker and retrieving the weapon before any more students were hurt. "Mr. Masterson ... was a hero ...who stood there and allowed a gun to be pointed right at him. And to talk down that young boy to drop the gun so that there would be no more young kids hurt."
Despite there being no deaths reported yet, this marks another tragic school-related shooting that has brought many outcries on the issue of gun control and school safety. In the four-years in this decade, notable school shootings that have brought the nation grief-stricken include the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December 2012 and the Sparks Middle School shooting in October of 2013, just to name a few.
The names of the male victim and the shooter have not yet been released. Following the shooting, students were bused from the school once it was safe to be let out of the emergency lockdown. Officials are reporting that classes will be cancelled Wednesday until further notice and state police will be interviewing over 100 students and faculties for more information about the attack.
Gov. Martinez extended her deepest condolences to the victims and the children of Berrendo Middle School. "'Keep these two child in your prayers and everyone else who observed and witnessed this and was helping make it stop."
