Girl, 8, critical after elementary school shooting

Updated 12:21 a.m. ET

SEATTLE - An 8-year-old girl was shot in the abdomen at an elementary school in Washington state Wednesday afternoon and one of her classmates was detained, authorities said.

The injured third-grader was airlifted to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center.

Authorities said a third-grade boy was being questioned and a firearm was found in a classroom.

The Bremerton Schools superintendent's office said the girl was shot in the stomach. CBS affiliate KIRO Seattle identified the injured student as Amina Bowman, who is in critical condition and is undergoing surgery.

"I ask my friends to pray for her," said Bowman's grandmother Cindy Kocer, as reported by CBS affiliate KEPR Pasco. "She'll be 9 in a couple of weeks."

Affiliate KIRO reported that Bill Poss, the husband of the teacher who was in the classroom when the shooting happened, said the student shooter was a recent transfer at the school.

"I don't know a lot about the kid other than my wife's been coming home talking about him, and he's been a real problem in the class, and she's been very concerned about it," Poss said.

Bremerton police Lt. Peter Fisher said officers and emergency crews were dispatched to Armin Jahr Elementary school in Bremerton around 1:30 p.m. in response to a call that a student was shot and injured by another student. The city is located about 20 miles west of Seattle, across Puget Sound.

The school went into lockdown immediately after the shooting, said Bremerton Schools spokeswoman Patty Glaser. Lockdown procedures call for announcements to be made over the school's loudspeakers and for teachers to lock their classrooms, she said.

Armin Jahr Elementary has about 400 students, Glaser said. She said the school will reopen Thursday and three counselors will talk to teachers, students and parents.

"Our plans at this time, school will continue as usual," Glaser said.

Police were working with the school district Wednesday afternoon to reunite parents with their children, Fisher said, and investigators were interviewing witnesses, which included students.

As of mid-afternoon, parents were still arriving to pick up their children from the school in a quiet residential neighborhood. A police officer was checking vehicles as they entered the parking lot.

Armin Jahr Elementary has about 400 students, Glaser said. She said the school will reopen Thursday and three counselors will talk to teachers, students and parents.

"Our plans at this time, school will continue as usual," Glaser said.

Police were working with the school district Wednesday afternoon to reunite parents with their children, Fisher said, and investigators were interviewing witnesses, which included students.

As of mid-afternoon, parents were still arriving to pick up their children from the school in a quiet residential neighborhood. A police officer was checking vehicles as they entered the parking lot.