Two teens in south Texas were shot while trying out for their middle school’s basketball team, and investigators think they were hit by stray bullets fired from surrounding ranchlands popular with hunters. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Two target shooters and one suspected poacher carrying an assault rifle were detained after Monday afternoon’s shooting at Harwell Middle School near Edinburg, Tex., about 30 miles north of the Mexico border.
The two boys, who were not identified, were in the middle of tryouts on a court outside the school when they were shot, Hildago County sheriff’s officials told the Associated Press.
One of the boys, 13, was hit in the armpit as he was attempting a layup.
The other, 14, was shot in the back while sitting on the ground, authorities told The Monitor newspaper.
“We felt certain that the shots came from afar,” Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino told the Associated Press.
Both boys were rushed to local hospitals, where the 14-year-old was said to be in critical condition after surgeons removed a bullet from one of his organs.
The 13-year-old was reported in stable condition.
The school was locked down after the gunfire, and authorities found three men with high-powered rifles on the farmlands surrounding the campus.
One man was illegally hunting with .223-caliber assault rifle on land north of the campus, while the other two were found shooting targets with .30-caliber rifles on land to the northwest, The Monitor reported.
The target shooters were released early Tuesday morning but remained under investigation because the victims appeared to be in their line of fire, though some 800 yards away, authorities said.
The poacher was still in custody.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said he was an illegal immigrant and could be facing trespassing, illegal weapons and other charges.
The school was open on Tuesday and grief counselors were on hand.
Edinburg school district spokesman Gilbert Tagle told ABC News the officals were considering building a cement fence around the school.
“This seems like a freak hunting accident,” Tagle told the station. “And if it was their bullet, it traveled a pretty good ways.”
