Glendale Teen Borrowed Friend's Family Handgun in High School Shooting

A girl suspected of killing her friend and then killing herself at Glendale's Independence High School on Friday borrowed the murder weapon from a classmate, who took it from his home, according to police.

Glendale cops released scant new details about the tragedy Tuesday afternoon, continuing to refuse to name the suspect and the victim.

The bodies of the 15-year-old girls were found under a covered patio area on the campus about 8 a.m. on Friday as many students still were walking to class. Each was shot just once, but police won't divulge the location of the wounds. A suicide note and a gun were found nearby.

Dorothy Dutiel and May Kieu were named in the incident by students and Kieu's sister, who's a science teacher at the school. According to unconfirmed rumors published widely on the Internet, Dutiel killed Kieu before turning the gun on herself. However, police refused to clarify how the shooting occurred or name the suspected perpetrator.

Sergeant David Vidaure, a Glendale police spokesman, issued a statement from the department that answered only a few of the outstanding questions.

Vidaure confirmed that no surveillance video of the shooting exists.

The other main issue Vidaure addresses is how the teen suspect obtained the gun.

"The suspect approached a 15-year old classmate on Thursday, telling him she needed it for protection," Vidaure writes in a news release. "She promised to return the gun on Friday. The classmate provided her a 
family-owned handgun, from his home, without the permission or knowledge of his parents."

Detectives interviewed the boy, who was cooperative, he adds.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office is reviewing the matter, but Vidaure says "no further details can be provided about this aspect of the investigation."

Vidaure also claims that state law prevents the names of the deceased girls from being released to the public, but he didn't immediately know what provision of the law prevents the release.

While Arizona public-records law provides an exception for some juvenile court records, it's unclear if this means a 15-year-old murder suspect's name can't be released — especially when that suspect is deceased. If the suspect had survived, she would have been prosecuted as an adult for the murder under Arizona law.

Vidaure tells New Times he'll double-check with the city's legal adviser on the issue.