A day at the Lawrence Hall of Science at U.C. Berkeley ended with a little girl in the ER after getting hit with an arrow.
A spokesperson at the center said an eight year old girl was playing on the whale replica in the vast entrance of the facility when an arrow cut into her leg. It was not immediately clear if it was a random or targeted attack.
The arrow was a crossbow arrow, according to investigators.
The little girl was treated at the scene and then taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Her injury is not considered life threatening, but the arrow was still in her leg when she was taken from the scene.
Doctors wbere able to surgically remove the arrow, but are keeping the child in the hospital overnight.
The girl was on a school trip at the science center.
Police Capt. Stephen Roderick told Bay City News investigators are trying to reconstruct the arrow's trajectory, a difficult task when "an arrow can travel 500 to 1,000 yards."
"She's a trooper," Roderick said. "Her mother is with her and she's doing fine."
The center is above the main Cal campus in the Berkeley hills. It's about a half a mile from Grizzly Peak Boulevard and is known for its views of the San Francisco Bay.
Police were reportedly checking nearby trails, parking lots and homes for any signs of a shooter. Police said it did not appear that the shooting was connected to any science or math experiments at the center.
The area around the life sized replica of a whale was cordoned off with yellow police tape, but the museum remained open during the investigation.
The Lawrence Hall of Science is UC Berkeley's public science center that focuses on science and math. It's website says it provides "parents, kids, and educators with opportunities to engage with science since 1968."
Anyone who might have information about the case is asked to call UC Berkeley police at (510) 642-6760.