PEARL CITY, Hawaii (AP) - A loaded handgun brought to a Hawaii middle school by a student was fired on campus before school started on Monday, narrowly missing one student and leaving another with minor injuries, police said.
The .45-caliber Glock went off when the student carrying the handgun pointed it at another student, and the second student pushed the gun away, Honolulu police Capt. Lester Hite said. The bullet ricocheted off a lava rock wall and went through the jacket of the boy who batted the weapon away.
"The bullet didn't touch his body, but it entered and exited his jacket," Hite said. The boy was uninjured.
The bullet is believed to have ricocheted a second time before hitting another student's right hand and thigh. Scratches to his finger and thigh were treated with bandages, Hite said.
Before the gun was fired, a group of students that included the boy who brought the gun were gathered at the bottom of a stairway near some outdoor basketball courts. The boy had unloaded the magazine, but a bullet remained in the gun's chamber, Hite said.
"He was showing it to a friend," Hite said. "It's unclear if they were playing around."
The 14-year-old who brought the gun to Highlands Intermediate School in Pearl City was taken into police custody. He faces possible arrest on charges ranging from attempted murder to assault to reckless endangerment, police said.
The gun was registered in the name of someone who has a different last name from the 14-year-old, Hite said. It was unclear how he obtained the gun.
The campus remained open while police investigated but some nervous parents chose to pull their children out of school.