A 13-year-old girl was shot and killed inside a school bus near Miami Tuesday, and police are investigating a male student as a potential suspect.

According to The Associated Press, Lourdes Guzman was shot around 6:45 a.m. and taken to Miami Children's Hospital. She was later pronounced dead, reports NBC 6 South Florida. The shooting occurred in Homestead, Fla., reported Local 10, where Lourdes was a student at Palm Glades Preparatory Academy.

Eight other youngsters were on the school bus but were unharmed. The bus also held students from Somerset Academy Silver Palms, Palm Glades Preparatory Academy and Summerville school, according to NBC 6 South Florida. Alvaro Zabaleta of the Miami-Dade police said the killer's firearm was recovered and he is in custody. He was not identified.

Zabaleta said the police have made every effort to contact the schools as well as the parents of the students who were on the bus about the shooting. "We made contact with all of the schools. Everything is fine and none of them have been placed on shut down, so everything is OK, no need for panic," he said, reported WSVN.

Police are investigating the motive for the shooting. The other students on the bus were interviewed by police and picked up by their parents, reports NBC 6 South Florida.

“It's traumatic for them for what they had to witness to begin with, and now you're going to have to question them to ask them exactly what they saw," Zabaleta said. He added the investigation may take some time due to the traumatic nature of the shooting.

Lourdes Guzman's 7-year-old sister was also on the bus at the time of the shooting. Police are examining the school bus and the children's belongings for more evidence.

Florida