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Shooting at Taft High School in California injures one Californian teacher talks student out of high school shooting
(about 2 hours later)
A pupil at a high school in the Californian town of Taft has been shot and wounded, police say. A teacher at a high school in California has been praised by police for averting a serious shooting incident.
The suspected gunman, also a student, was taken into custody, said Ray Pruitt, spokesman for the Kern County Sheriff's Department. The teacher and a campus supervisor talked a gunman into putting down his weapon after he had shot and injured one pupil at Taft Union High School.
The victim was taken to hospital in an air ambulance, he said. Police said the gunman had enough ammunition to kill many people.
Early reports suggested that a second person had been wounded, but Mr Pruitt told CNN that this appeared not to be true. The injured student was taken to hospital in an air ambulance and is in a critical condition.
Kern County Fire Department Eric Coughran told KBAK-TV that a second person had received some sort of injury but had refused treatment. The drama started after 09:00 local time (17:00 GMT) when the gunman, also a student, arrived late, armed with a shotgun, at the school in the small town in California's central valley.
A city official said the incident at Taft Union High School, about 120 miles (190km) north of Los Angeles, occurred shortly after 09:00 local time (17:00 GMT). Students and staff telephoned police, but before officers could arrive, the suspect had shot at two people in a class in the science block. One shot missed its target.
Mr Pruitt said the gunman had used a shotgun in the attack in the small town outside Bakersfield, in California's central valley. The teacher, who had been grazed by a pellet, then intervened. He is reported by US media to have warned the suspect that there would be no shooting in his class, at which point the gunman put down his weapon and police officers arrested him.
Deputies from the local sheriff''s office and officials conducted a search of the school and its grounds to make sure no-one else was involved and all other students are safe. Parents of pupils at the school said the suspect had been suspended last year from the school 120 miles (190km) north of Los Angeles.
Deputies from the local sheriff''s office and town officials conducted a search of the school and its grounds to make sure no-one else was involved and all other students were safe.
The shooting comes four weeks after a gunman killed 26 pupils and staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.The shooting comes four weeks after a gunman killed 26 pupils and staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
That incident has provoked a nationwide debate about gun laws in the US. Vice-President Joe Biden has said his task force on gun control will make its recommendations to President Barack Obama as early as Tuesday. That incident has provoked a nationwide debate about gun laws in the US Vice-President Joe Biden has said his task force on gun control will make its recommendations to President Barack Obama as early as Tuesday.
Former pupils of Taft Union High School include the distinguished US Air Force pilot, General Gordon Graham, the American football player Russell Letlow and the television actress Jeanne Cooper. Taft Union High School will be closed for classes on Friday, but will have counsellors on campus to talk to worried students.
Former pupils of the school include the distinguished US Air Force pilot, General Gordon Graham, the American football player Russell Letlow and the television actress Jeanne Cooper.
Are you in Taft? Are you in California? Are you affected? Please share your comments and experiences.Are you in Taft? Are you in California? Are you affected? Please share your comments and experiences.