Target practice probed in Texas student shooting

EDINBURG, Texas - Investigators in Texas say two of three men questioned in connection with the shooting of two students at a middle school were doing target practice on an adjacent ranch Monday while the third was an illegal immigrant who was trespassing on the property and hunting with an assault rifle.

Authorities previously described all three men as hunters.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said Tuesday that the two men doing target practice may have been in the right line of fire to hit the students, but it would have been from a distance of about 800 yards. The men were released but remain under investigation.

Investigators are still trying to determine where the trespassing hunter was and whether he would have been in line with the victims. He remains in custody.

Two students, ages 13 and 14, were wounded in the Monday afternoon shootings outside Harwell Middle School near Edinburg. It was hosting outdoor tryouts for the basketball team.

One was in critical condition Monday night with a gunshot wound in in the back and a bullet embedded in an organ, while the other was in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the armpit, Trevino had said.

Texas students hit by suspected hunters' shots

Classes were to go on as scheduled Tuesday, but with increased security and counselors available to speak with students, said Edinburg school district spokesman Gilbert Tagle.

At the time of the shooting, one of the boys was going for a layup. The other was waiting his turn to try out, Trevino had said.

A number of after-school activities besides the basketball tryouts were going on at the school, including a concert and a faculty meeting, Tagle had said. He estimated as many as 200 children could have been on campus.

Classes were not in session when the shooting happened, but the school complex was immediately placed on lockdown.