12-year-old shoots 13-year-old at a California school, police say

A 12-year-old boy was taken into custody Monday after authorities said he shot another boy at a Northern California school.

Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong told reporters that the victim, 13, was stable after the shooting Monday afternoon at Madison Park Academy.

It wasn’t clear if the suspect attended the school in the city’s Sobrante Park neighborhood, NBC Bay Area reported. Armstong said officers “quickly and safely” took him into custody.

Armstrong said a motive was unknown.

“It saddens me to think a kid would bring a gun to school,” he said. “No parent wants to send their kids to school in the day and then be called saying, ‘You’re kid’s been shot.’ It’s the worst call you can get.”

Additional details about the shooting were not immediately available and spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Oakland, a city of less than half a million people east of San Francisco, recorded six killings in recent days, including a triple homicide Friday that involved a retaliatory shooting and a bicyclist who was fatally struck by an “out of control” vehicle, Armstrong said.

The number of killings in the city this year is nearly on par with the number of homicides last year, which recorded a surge in fatal gun violence.

As of Monday, there had been 83 homicides in the city, two less than the same time frame last year, Armstrong said.