Police authorities in California are saying the shooting incident inside a Los Angeles school is not deliberate and two students - a boy and a girl - were injured when a gun in a backpack accidentally discharged.

Earlier today, the nation was gripped in fear when news spread that two students were shot inside Gardena High School in Los Angeles County and the gunman has surrendered.

The unidentified gunman - a tenth grader at the school - was seen wearing a long-sleeve dark shirt and jeans as the police escorted him from the school to a waiting police vehicle.

A gun was recovered from the school and the police said the shooting was not deliberate but accidental, the police said.

The gun was inside a backpack and when the student slammed the bag down on his desk, it accidentally discharged, wounding two students. A girl was shot in the head and a boy was wounded in the shoulder. Both the injured students were rushed to the hospital. The girl is in critical condition and the boy is in serious condition.

The school, which serves 3,100 students, is under lockdown.

Question to readers: Do we need new gun-control legislation in the wake of the shootings in Tucson, Arizona and the 'accidental' shooting inside Gardena High School? Let's speak up now! Leave your comments below.

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