Moms: Wounded sons weren't targets in Nev. shooting

SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — The parents of the two boys wounded by a seventh-grader who fatally shot their teacher before turning a semi-automatic handgun on himself said Wednesday they don't believe their children were targeted in the schoolyard rampage.

Police were interviewing dozens of students who witnessed the shooting as investigators continued to try to unravel the mystery of what motivated the shooter, whom they still have not identified two days after he took his own life on an asphalt basketball court outside Sparks Middle School.

Hundreds of students and others gathered at a candlelight vigil on the school lawn Wednesday night to pay respect to their wounded classmates and beloved, fallen math teacher Michael Landsberry, a 45-year-old ex-Marine who coached basketball and soccer and was known by all as a big fan of Batman.

Sparks police Lt. Erick Thomas said investigators still don't know whether the shooting spree 15 minutes before the start of school Monday morning was random or targeted specific individuals.

But parents of the two 12-year-olds recovering from gunshot wounds said they don't think the boys were singled out. One said her son was trying to help Landsberry when he was shot in the abdomen with a bullet that exited his back.

"We do not believe he was in any way the target in this shooting," Jenifer Davis told reporters outside Renown Regional Medical Center, where she said her son Mason was "doing well ... in good spirits, although saddened by the loss of his friend, Mr. Landsberry."

A parent of the other boy, who was shot in the shoulder, declined to be identified or speak with reporters but said in a statement released by the hospital, "We do not believe our son was a target in this shooting."