Camden boy is alleged to shoot school friend

Friday morning went terribly awry for two Camden schoolmates and friends, boys 11 and 12 years old.

The 12-year-old was at his home in the Crestbury Apartments when, around 8 a.m., the 11-year-old, who does not live there, shot him in the face, said Jason Laughlin, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

The two boys, whose names were not released by authorities, both attend the H.B. Wilson Family School, according to school board President Kathryn Blackshear. Only one shot was fired, authorities said.

The victim was taken to Cooper University Hospital for treatment and is expected to survive. It was not immediately clear how the 11-year-old acquired the gun, to whom it belongs, or if the shooting was intentional or accidental, Laughlin said.

No charges have been filed, he said. Speaking at the scene in the city's Morgan Village neighborhood, a friend of the victim's family said the two boys are friends.

The oldest person in the apartment at the time of the shooting was the victim's 19-year-old brother, Laughlin said. The K-8 Wilson Family School is about a quarter mile up the street from the apartment complex.

Contact Claudia Vargas at 856-779-3917, cvargas@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @InqCVargas. Read her blog, "Camden Flow," at www.philly.com/camden_flow.