Police chief: Student accidentally shot in leg on school bus

KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — One high school student accidentally shot and injured another student on a school bus with a handgun brought to school , Kingman police said Wednesday.

Police Chief Rusty Cooper said juvenile charges of endangerment and other crimes would likely be sought against the 14-year-old boy who took the gun to school on March 23 and who was handling it while riding home on bus to Dolan Springs that day when it fired, shooting a 15-year-old boy in the leg.

The injury was serious but not life-threatening, Cooper said in a statement.

The 14-year-old discarded the gun after getting off the bus and it wasn't found in a subsequent search after the wounded boy's family contacted authorities, Cooper said.

“The shooting appears to have been reckless, but unintentional," Cooper said.

Cooper told The Associated Press that initial information given police was muddled and that it wasn't clear what the driver knew.

The driver was placed on administrative leave pending investigation, Kingman Unified School District Superintendent Gretchen Dorner said.

“Carrying a weapon on a school campus or bus is not tolerated under any circumstance," Dorner said in a statement.

Dolan Springs is a rural community 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Kingman.