This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A student shot himself in the face Monday at Provo High School but survived with relatively minor injuries.
The 14-year-old left class shortly before school was to be dismissed and went behind a secondary building on the school campus, said Provo police Detective Chris Chambers. The boy shot himself in the cheek with a .22-caliber pistol; the bullet went through his mouth and chipped a tooth before exiting his other cheek, Chambers said.
The boy then went into a bathroom in the secondary building, which houses some classrooms, and called 911, Chambers said. The boy told police he intended to kill himself. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and psychological evaluation. Video surveillance confirmed the boy's account of the shooting.
No other students or staff witnessed the shooting or saw the boy in the bathroom, Chambers said. Police are investigating the origin of the gun and how the teen managed to conceal it at school.
Erin Alberty