One student died and another teenage boy was wounded after a Canadian high-school dropout opened fire with a pistol at an Alberta high school yesterday.
One of the boys, from W.R. Myers High School, in Taber, 200 km south-east of Calgary, died as a result of his wounds, a Lethbridge Hospital spokesman said. The other boy was said to be in critical condition. Their names have not been released.
Students and teachers at the school said the gunman was a 14-year-old former student who had been expelled from the school. Students said he was wearing a blue trench coat and brandishing a .22 calibre pistol.
Students said the boy first approached a teacher, saying, "It's not a joke." He then turned around and shot at three boys, hitting two of them, they said.
Meanwhile, local police said the girlfriend of one of the students responsible for a murderous rampage at Littleton high school last week bought some of the guns used, writes Joe Carroll from Washington.
Ms Robyn Anderson was released after being interviewed by investigators but is expected to be questioned again. She could face criminal charges if it can be shown that she knew that her boyfriend, Dylan Klebold, and his friend, Eric Harris, intended to launch the gun and bomb attack on the school which killed 12 students and one teacher. Harris and Klebold also died, apparently from self-inflicted wounds.
Police have said that Ms Anderson, who accompanied Klebold to the school prom just days before the attack, bought at least two of the four guns used in the massacre at a gun show. As she is 18 she would be legally entitled to buy the guns. Klebold was 17 and Harris turned 18 earlier this month.