Two boys — ages 13 and 14 — were shot, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino. Classes were not in session at Harwell Middle School when the shooting happened around 4:45 p.m., but the school complex was immediately placed on lockdown. Edinburg school district spokesman Gilbert Tagle said a number of after-school activities were going on besides the basketball tryouts, including a concert and a faculty meeting. He estimated as many as 200 children could have been on campus.
One of the wounded boys was in critical condition Monday night with a bullet embedded in an organ. The other was stable and awaiting X-rays, Trevino said.
At the time of the shooting, one of the boys was going for a layup. The other was waiting his turn to try out, Trevino said.
The sheriff said it was too early to say whether the students were targeted or if the shooting was accidental.
Investigators believe the shots may have come from hunters on adjacent farm property, Trevino said. The shots did not come from the campus and were not a result of a drive-by, he said.
Harwell Middle School opened just this year on the rural property northeast of Edinburg, which is about 50 miles northwest of Brownsville. Homes line the road approaching the school, but open fields stretch out behind it and to the north.
Source: By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN | AP – 9 hrs ago