Gunman Opens Fire on School Bus; 2 Hurt : Violence: Sheriff’s sergeant says attack on Nogales High students may have been gang-related.

A gunman opened fire on a school bus Thursday afternoon, sending debris throughout the bus and injuring two high school students in what may have been a gang attack, authorities said.

The injured girls, 15 and 17, both students at Nogales High School, were hit in the legs by bullet fragments, but not seriously injured in the attack near City of Industry. They were treated at Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina and released. Their names are being withheld.

The bus, with 28 students, was moving south on Faxina Avenue, a residential street a few blocks from the school, when a car pulled alongside about 12:30 p.m. and a gunman opened fire, said Sgt. Dan Pohl of the Sheriff’s Department. Pohl said the bus was hit by nine bullets from a 9-millimeter handgun.

Pohl said three males, whose identities have not been determined, were believed to be in the car. A motive has not been found.

“At this point we can’t be sure, but the shooting appears to be gang-related,” Pohl said.

The girls were wounded by two bullets that disintegrated upon hitting the bus, causing shrapnel to fly into the seating area, Pohl said. No one else was hurt.

The 26 other students on the bus were interviewed at the scene and taken home by another vehicle from the Rowland Unified School District.

Supt. Sharon S. Robison said the bus was carrying students who had just been picked up at Nogales, located in the unincorporated area north of City of Industry, and several others from Santana Continuation High School in the Rowland Heights area south of City of Industry.

“This is the first time we’ve had to deal with something like this,” she said. “We’ve had a few random BB gun shootings at buses, but this is the most serious thing I can remember happening.”

Robison said the students were leaving school shortly after noon because they were on an early class schedule.