Shooting wounds three at school

HOUSTON – A kindergartner who brought a loaded gun to his Houston elementary school Tuesday was among three students injured when the gun fired after falling from his pocket as he sat down for lunch, officials said.

One bullet was fired about 10:35 a.m. in the Ross Elementary School cafeteria, spraying fragments at the students, said Houston Independent School District Assistant Police Chief Robert Mock.

“It dropped on the floor, under the table. It was loud, it was so loud,” 6-year-old Kennedi Glapion said as she was being picked up from the school by her grandmother.

Kennedi, one of 42 kindergartners having lunch in the cafeteria when the gun went off, said she was scared and started crying after it fired.

Two 6-year-old boys were wounded, including the one who had the gun. The boy who brought the gun was injured in his foot and the other boy was grazed in his leg, said Sam Sarabia, the elementary chief school officer for the Houston school district. A 5-year-old girl was injured in her knee, he said.

The boy who brought the gun might have been injured by the bullet while the other boy and the girl might have been injured by shrapnel, Sarabia said.

All three children were in stable condition and seemed to be in good spirits, said Dr. David deLemos at Texas Children’s Hospital, where the students were treated.

The hospital identified the girl as Za’Keyah Thomas, and one of the injured boys as Khoran Brown, who was released from the hospital later Tuesday. The name of the boy who brought the gun was not released.

“It is a sad situation that this took place but we are thankful our son is in good spirits,” Brown’s parents said in a statement through the hospital. “He is already asking to get back to school.”

Houston police spokesman Victor Senties said it is too early in the investigation to tell if any charges will be filed.