high school student in California walked into class armed with a shotgun, shot one child and missed another before staff "heroics" helped prevent further bloodshed.

The 16-year-old gunman's victim was airlifted to hospital where he was in a "critical condition" after the shooting on Thursday at a high school in Taft, north of Los Angeles, said Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood.

After the shots were fired, a teacher and a campus supervisor arrived and engaged the shooter in conversation, allowing the rest of the 28-member class to get out safely.

"The student was still armed with a shotgun, and they stayed and... distracted him in a conversation, allowing the students to get out of the classroom and ultimately talking the student down," Youngblood told reporters.