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5th-grader shoots classmate with BB gun

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- A Philadelphia fifth-grader faces disciplinary action after he allegedly shot a classmate with a plastic pellet from a BB gun, school officials said.

The attack Monday at John Whittier School in North Philadelphia occurred hours after a deadly shooting in a suburban Cleveland school, raising concerns of copycat incidents, the Philadelphia Inquirer said.

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"You might see a lot of copycat stuff going on now," Michael Lodise, head of the school police union, told the newspaper. He said the district doesn't have a policy of taking special precautions after school shootings elsewhere.

The student with the BB gun was detained by the principal and turned over to police. He was suspended and could be expelled, Philadelphia School District spokesman Fernando Gallard said. Gallard said the student hit in the leg with a pellet wasn't hurt.

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