Third-Grader Shot With Classmate's Gun

A third-grade girl was shot in the stomach yesterday at her Washington state elementary school when a loaded handgun in the backpack of a classmate apparently discharged accidentally, said officials. The girl was in critical condition last night in a Seattle hospital. The 9-year-old boy who brought the handgun has been booked into a local juvenile detention center for investigation of unlawful possession of a firearm, bringing a dangerous weapon onto school grounds, and third-degree assault, reports the Seattle Times.

"I don't know a lot about the kid other than my wife's been coming home talking about him, and he's been a real problem in the class, and she's been very concerned about it," said the husband of one of the teachers at the Bremerton school where the shooting occurred. The school was immediately locked down after the shooting, and all students were confined to their classrooms until police determined what had occurred. "They were all huddled together under the teacher's desk," said a mother. "It was probably one of the scariest days of my life. A little over an hour was like an eternity to me, just not knowing." What "I keep wondering," said another parent, is "how did a third-grader get hold of a loaded gun?" (More crime stories.)