Cops: 'Much Deeper Tragedy' Averted in School Shooting

Investigators have concluded that a 14-year-old female freshman who shot and wounded a fellow student at a West Texas high school before killing herself had planned to shoot her 14-year-old stepbrother before shooting herself. In a statement issued Tuesday, Chief Russell Scown of the Alpine Police Department says the girl's plan was foiled when a 17-year-old junior walked into the girls restroom at Alpine High School where the freshman girl was arming herself Thursday, the AP reports. The shooter, whom police haven't identified, aimed her gun at the older girl, who ducked and began running when she was shot in the lower body. The freshman girl then shot and killed herself.

Officials said that day that the wound the older girl received was not life-threatening. Police say no others at the school were targeted. "As this incident unfolded, the leadership, guidance, service, professionalism, and protection given by the principal, school counselor, office staff, and teachers was amazing," Scown said in a statement, per the Star-Telegram. "One of the strongest and [most] courageous of all is the young lady wounded that day. The actions of this young lady, although unintentional, thwarted a much deeper tragedy." (More school shooting stories.)