San Francisco – The mother of a 16-year-old boy who was shot a block from his high school near Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco told KTVU she initially thought he had been killed.

But her son is recovering after being shot in the ankle around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday near the corner of North Point and Polk Street, not far from the Galileo Academy of Science and Technology.

The mother says other boys invited her son to go to a park and then pressured him to join their gang. When he refused, he was attacked and shot. She says the shooting occurred after the recent Colombian immigrant was bullied by other boys on campus.

She says she notified police about the bullying but was told there was nothing they could do. She was on campus Thursday to meet with school officials.

She urged parents to remind their children that violence is not an appropriate way to deal with conflict.

In a statement, the San Francisco Unified School District said: “We thank the student’s mother for sharing her concerns. We are committed to doing everything in our power to support her and her family, especially during this difficult time.”

Cheeko Wells, a graduate of Galileo University and a resident of the Street Violence Intervention Program in San Francisco, says the shooting appears to have broken out between warring factions.

“Two rival ‘who knows’ – let’s leave it at that – two rival ‘who knows’, they got into a verbal altercation, and that spilled out into the street,” Wells said.

The Galileo campus normally has an “open campus” policy, but the day after the shooting, students were banned from leaving campus for lunch.

Wells explained to the students that their safety was his top priority.

“We understand the situation, but we want to make sure you are safe. Your parents will also appreciate knowing you are safe,” Well said.

Henry Lee is a crime reporter for KTVU. Email Henry at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan