Gun-nuts refuse to budge on new weapons ban

A 16-year-old boy took a shotgun - thought to belong to his brother - to his California school and shot a pupil who he alleged bullied him before firing off two more shots at fleeing students.

Science teacher Ryan Heber managed to convince him to hand over the gun while the others escaped, Kern County sheriff Donny Youngblood said.

The victim was reportedly in a critical but stable condition in hospital on Thursday night.

A female student was also being treated for possible hearing damage after the gun was fired near her ears.

The shooting came as debate raged over gun regulation in the US, sparked by the massacre of 20 primary school children, six of their teachers and gunman Adam Lanza's mother last month.

Shortly before the attack Vice-President Joe Biden was locked in discussions with the powerful US gun lobby over limiting access to weapons.

The proposals include a ban on selling certain semi-automatic weapons, limits on magazine size and background checks on every gun buyer.

NRA president David Keene said: "The vice-president made it clear, made it explicitly clear, that the president had already made up his mind on those issues. We made it clear that we disagree with them."

He told news channel NBC today that the NRA had enough support in Congress to vote down "a ban on so-called assault weapons."