2 injured in California school shooting; gunman held

In yet another shooting incident in the United States, at least two people were shot on Thursday at a California high school while the suspected shooter, believed to be a student armed with a shotgun, was taken into custody.

Two people were shot at Taft High School in Bakersfield, Kern County, about 120km north of Los Angeles, officials said.

Kern County Fire Department said one victim refused treatment at the scene and the other was transported to Kern County Medical Center, Fox News reported.

The victims' ages were not immediately known.

A staff at the Taft City School District told Rediff.com that the shooting happened in Taft Union High School District that has a separate building and has students from 9 to 12 grades.

"We are on semi-lockdown," said the staff over phone. She said, "We are going to the school to find the children right now."

The ABC news reported that the station received phone calls from people inside Taft Union High School who were hiding in closets.

The situation is said to be under control and students were evacuated to a football field.

City manager's assistant Debra Elliott says the shooting was reported shortly after 9 am (local time). She did not provide further details.

Taft is a city west of Bakersfield with a population of about 7,000.

Reports of the latest shooting comes as the country debates gun control after the deadly shooting inside a Connecticut elementary school last month.

Last month in a gruesome incident, a gunman had killed 26 people, including 20 first-graders, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut's Newtown.

With PTI inputs