SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. — A 12-year-old boy was shot while on a football field at a Phoenix-area school.
The boy was at Champion Schools around 3 p.m. last Wednesday in San Tan Valley when he “heard a pop and his leg started to hurt,” according to a news release from the Pinal County sheriff’s office.
The boy told school officials that he had been hit by a baseball, authorities said.
The boy was taken to Gila River Health Care facility where doctors determined he had a small caliber gunshot wound to his leg and notified police, according to the release.
The child was transported to Phoenix Children’s Hospital soon after.
“The school is very sympathetic to the family of the young man who was injured,” Champion Schools said in a statement. “We understand and share their concern in wanting to know exactly what happened. The school thought it best to cooperate fully with law enforcement.”
Early evidence at the scene indicates “that the student was possibly shot at close range,” but police are still waiting “for more conclusive results,” authorities said.
Detectives have found nothing to show that the school or students were targeted or that the school is in any danger, according to the release.
