Youth Shot While Examining Friend’s Stolen Gun

A 15-year-old Palmdale High School student who took a handgun to school accidentally shot a classmate Wednesday when the teen-agers left school at lunch to look at the weapon, sheriff’s deputies said.

The victim, a 15-year-old youth whose name was withheld, was treated at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center for a wound to the upper right thigh. He was reported in stable condition Wednesday afternoon.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Denham said deputies detained the youth believed to be responsible for the shooting, recovered the weapon and referred the case to the district attorney’s office for possible criminal charges.

The teen-age suspect, whose name was also withheld because of his age, was turned over to school officials, who suspended him and released him to his parents, deputies said.

The youth had stolen a .45-caliber handgun from his grandfather’s house, deputies said. After bringing the weapon to school, he and three friends--including the shooting victim--left the campus to examine the gun at a house in the 3300 block of Viana Drive. The gun discharged while the youth who brought it to school was trying to load it, Denham said.

The teen-age suspect panicked, fled from the house, threw the gun into bushes and returned to school, deputies said. The other youths remained at the house and called 911 to report the incident.