A 13-year-old student has reportedly been shot at a middle school in California by a 12-year-old gunman.
According to KTVU, the shooting broke out on Monday (August 29) on the campus of Madison Park Academy, which is situated in the Sobrante Park neighborhood in Oakland.
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong told reporters at a subsequent press conference that responding officers found a 13-year-old boy with a gunshot wound and spotted the 12-year-old fleeing the scene. The alleged shooter was shortly apprehended.
The incident transpired in the afternoon as the school day was coming to a close.
Watch the aftermath of the shooting below:The identity of the suspect and whether they were a student at the school is yet to be revealed by police officials. The gun used in the shooting has been recovered.
NBC News adds that the victim is in a stable condition.
The campus - which has students in sixth through to twelfth grade - was evacuated and caused a backup of traffic in the area as parents tried to pick up their children upon learning of the incident.
Footage from the SkyFOX chopper showed police and Alameda County sheriff’s deputies, students, staff, and parents crowded together outside the school.
The shooting comes after another violent weekend in Oakland. Chief Armstrong reported six killings in the last four days, but called this particular incident a parent’s worst nightmare, per NBC News.
"No parent wants to send their kid to school and get a call they’ve been shot. The worst thing you can hear as a parent," he said. "Far too many guns on our streets."
"It saddens me to think a kid would bring a gun to school," he added. "No parent wants to send their kids to school in the day and then be called saying, 'Your kid’s been shot.' It’s the worst call you can get."
Mayor of Oakland, Libby Schaaf, shared a statement about the incident to her social media accounts, describing it as "heartbreaking and unacceptable".
"School should be the safest place for our kids. As a mother and a mayor, I’m relieved the young victim at Madison is in stable condition + a suspect apprehended. The increased level of gun violence in our country + our city is heartbreaking and unacceptable," she wrote.
She continued her statement in a follow-up tweet, writing: "Let me be clear: We will hold accountable those who cause harm to Oakland, and we will come together to heal from these traumatic events."
Oakland Police have yet to provide a motive for the shooting and have not commented on what sort of charges the minor will be subject to. An investigation is currently ongoing.
