The suspect in last week’s pellet gun shooting of two Eureka High students has confessed to pulling the trigger according to EPD Chief Andy Mills, who spoke with the Outpost this morning.

In his confession, the suspect – Christian John Kay, 18 – claimed that the shooting was accidental, according to Mills. Investigators are taking that part of Kay’s confession lightly.

“He said it was an accident, but that is not unusual for suspects trying to negate their involvement in a crime,” Mills said.

Kay was booked into jail yesterday on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

Police believe that Kay shot at the group of students from a balcony of his apartment, which is on a dead-end segment of L Street, two blocks from the high school. Mills characterized Kay’s actions as “typical of a sniper” – police believe he took shots from the balcony, then ducked back out of sight to reprime his weapon.

One of the victims was seriously injured and required surgery.

The case was cracked after a combination of police investigation and tips from members of the community. After the shooting, and working off statements from the victims, police attempted to identify possible locations the shooter could have been standing. Then, in recent days, members of the community started coming forward with tips.

Mills said that police learned that Kay’s apartment was a hangout for some Eureka kids, though none of the victims were believed to have come from there.

Though the weapon used in the crime is an air-powered gun, Mills wished to underline that the case is no less serious for that. Some of these weapons can shoot projectiles at a speed of up to 1,250 feet per second, he said – faster than some explosive rounds.

“We view this as a pretty significant,” he said.

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