EDINBURG, Texas, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Two boys playing basketball outside a southern Texas middle school Monday afternoon were hit by deer hunters' stray bullets, authorities said.
The (McAllen) Monitor reported a 14-year-old boy was in critical condition at a McAllen hospital and a 13-year-old boy was hospitalized in stable condition.
They were each shot once about 4:45 p.m. local time while trying out for the school basketball team outside Harwell Middle School in Edinburg. One was hit while going up for a layup and the other was sitting on a curb awaiting his turn.
The newspaper said the school was put on lockdown and Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said a police helicopter helped find one hunter north of the school with a .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle. Two other hunters also were taken in for questioning.
"This is a major crime," Trevino said.
