‘Not a drill’: Sixth grader goes on gun rampage in Idaho school, injures 3 before she’s stopped

BOISE: A sixth-grade girl brought a gun to her Idaho middle school, shot and wounded two students and a custodian, and then was disarmed by a teacher on Thursday, authorities said.

The three victims were shot in their limbs and expected to survive, officials said at a news conference. Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Anderson says the girl pulled a handgun from her backpack and fired multiple rounds inside and outside Rigby Middle School in the small city of Rigby, about 145 kilometres southwest of Yellowstone National Park.

A female teacher disarmed the girl and held her until law enforcement arrived and took her into custody, authorities said, without giving other details. Authorities say they’re investigating the motive for the attack and where the girl got the gun.

“We don’t have a lot of details at this time,” Anderson said, adding: “We’re following all leads.”

The girl, whose identity has not been released, is from the nearby city of Idaho Falls.

Police were called to the school around 9:15am after students and staffers heard gunfire. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, and students were evacuated to a nearby high school to be reunited with their parents.

“Me and my classmate were just in class with our teacher — we were doing work — and then all of a sudden, here was a loud noise and then there were two more loud noises. Then there was screaming,” 12-year-old Yandel Rodriguez said.

“Our teacher went to check it out, and he found blood.” Yandel’s mom, Adela Rodriguez, said they were OK but “still a little shaky” from the shooting as they left the campus.

Both of the students who were shot were being held at the hospital, and one of them might need surgery, said Dr Michael Lemon, trauma medical director at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.