A total of six students were shot Tuesday after they got off a school bus in Las Vegas, local police said.

The shooting rampage occurred around 2 p.m. local time outside the Mojave High School in northeast Las Vegas.

Among the six students, all in their teens or early 20s, four were slightly wounded and two in critical condition. They were all taken to a hospital.

Local TV channel KVBC reported that the shooting was apparently stemmed from a quarrel between students.

Police said at least two people, probably students as well, were involved in the shooting, but they did not say whether the gunmen were on foot or in a vehicle.

Witnesses said that the shooters were lying in wait in the street corner for their targets and opened fire as soon as their victims got off the school bus.

"I have lived in this area for about 20 years, and I really worried about the kids living in this neighborhood now," said Elaine Budesa, a mother of an 8th grader.

The United States has recently seen several shooting incidents.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2007)