Feb 13, 2008 9:02 pm US/Pacific
SoCal Student Declared Brain Dead After Shooting
OXNARD (AP) ―
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Onlookers surround E.O. Green Junior High School.
CBS
A 15-year-old boy who was shot in the head at school was declared brain dead Wednesday but was kept on a ventilator for possible organ donation, a medical examiner said.
Eighth-grader Lawrence King, who was shot Tuesday during a class at E.O. Green Junior High, was pronounced brain dead at 2 p.m. at St. John's Regional Medical Center after examination by two neurosurgeons, Ventura County Senior Deputy Medical Examiner Craig Stevens said.
King was clinically dead but was kept on a ventilator pending a family decision on whether to donate his organs, Stevens said.
Oxnard Police Department spokesman David Keith announced earlier that King was dead.
"I'm sticking with my earlier statement. I was informed by the hospital that he has passed away," Keith said.
He said the teen's family asked police to not comment on King's medical condition.
The hospital referred inquiries to police.
An unidentified 14-year-old classmate arrested near the school after the shooting was booked for investigation of attempted murder on Tuesday.
The charges could become more serious if King dies.
The 14-year-old could face charges of murder and use of a firearm in commission of murder, said Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten.
Police have not alleged a motive for the shooting, but said there appeared to have been "bad blood" between the teens.
Police said a handgun was used in the attack, which occurred with more than 20 other students in the room.
About three-quarters of the junior high's 1,150 students body showed up Wednesday for school, where psychologists held counseling sessions, Hueneme School District Superintendent Jerry Dannenberg said.
"We're trying to get the children back into their normal routines as quickly as possible," he said.
The school is in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles.
King had been under the care of the Ventura County foster care system and lived at Casa Pacifica, a nearby center for abused and neglected children, said Steve Elson, the facility's chief executive.
"We're are all stunned and it's just an unspeakable tragedy," Elson said. "This is a very big traumatic experience for all of us."
King had been receiving help from school support staff, Dannenberg said. He had no details on the type of assistance the teen needed.
"He was seeing a number of people trying to help him deal with his own personal issues," he said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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