Williamsport, Pa. — A 14-year-old girl shot a female classmate in the shoulder Wednesday in the cafeteria of their parochial school but dropped the gun at the urging of another student, authorities said.
Police said the shooter and the victim had feuded in the past.
"This is a situation of a student who was upset with another student," police officer David Ritter said. "This is not a random act of violence and as far as I understand there are no other targets for this violence."
The shooting happened around noon during lunch in the cafeteria filled with about 120 students at Bishop Neumann Junior-Senior High, a Roman Catholic school.
The girl was charged as a juvenile with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and other charges. She was being held at a juvenile facility.
George Lepley, the girl's attorney, said he understood from police and other students that his client had been teased by classmates, including the victim. He said she had not meant to shoot the other girl and was relieved to learn the bullet wound was not life-threatening.
"I have talked to several students and I have been told that the gun was pointed at the ground and she was saying things like leave her alone and so forth, and the shot was fired down toward the ground and it deflected up and hit the other girl," Lepley said.
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