RENO -- An eighth-grader opened fire with a pistol Tuesday outside his middle school cafeteria, injuring two classmates, authorities said.

A teacher at Pine Middle School coaxed the boy to drop the gun, then "bear hugged" him until more staff arrived, police Lt. Ron Donnelly said.

"It was a heroic job done," he said. "She de-escalated a very dangerous situation."

James Newman, 14, was charged as an adult with attempted murder and was jailed on $150,000 bail, Donnelly said. He also was charged with use of a deadly weapon and use of a firearm by a minor.

The victims' injuries were not life-threatening. A boy was treated for a gunshot wound to the arm, and a girl was treated for a superficial leg wound from shrapnel.

Donnelly said the victims had no relationship with the Newman, nor had they had any disputes or arguments with him.

"It appears he decided to engage in school violence," the officer said. "He brought a gun to school today and randomly targeted these two students."

Investigators were withholding the names of the victims and the teacher, who school officials said did not want to be identified.

Police recovered the .38-caliber pistol, and were trying to determine where the boy got it.

More than a dozen students and others witnessed the shootings just before 9 a.m., police said. When the teacher heard three gunshots, she came out into the hallway from a nearby room and confronted the boy, Donnelly said.

"She basically challenged him, verbally challenged him, 'Drop the gun, put the gun down,' " Donnelly told KKOH radio. "She empathized with him, tried to be understanding and de-escalated the situation."

The school was placed in lock down for about an hour before classes were canceled for the day.

"I was scared," said Luke Riley, a student at the school.

"It was weird because we heard gunshots and there was so much chaos. I didn't know what to expect," he told KTVN-TV in Reno.

Students were prohibited from calling out on their cellular phones but some traded text messages with parents.