Eighth-grader at Arkansas school shot by classmate

A 14-year-old student at an Arkansas high school has been shot and wounded by a classmate who brought a handgun to the campus.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the wounded student, an eighth-grader at Prescott High School, was in stable condition after being airlifted to a hospital in Little Rock. The alleged shooter, also 14 and in the eighth grade, has been arrested. 

“It appears this was a premeditated attack specifically targeting the injured student,” Prescott Public Schools said in a news release posted on Facebook.

District officials say the shooter brought a concealed handgun into the school. A school police officer was on campus at the time of the shooting.

Prescott Police Chief Joey Beavers says officers responded to the high school around 9:15 a.m. after reports of a shooting in a hallway. Officers arrested the shooter following a lockdown, the district says.

“Everything was contained in just a matter of seconds,” he says.

It wasn’t immediately known what led to the shooting. No other injuries were reported.

The 976-student school district, which about 90 miles southwest of Little Rock. canceled classes and other school events for the remainder of the day.

The district says it plans to have counselors available on campus for students when classes resume on Tuesday.