Boy, 16, shot dead waiting for school bus

A 16-year-old boy has been shot and killed in Australia while waiting for a bus home after school.

The student was hit once in the upper body and died from a heart attack on the way to hospital.

Police in Bankstown, near Sydney, have been told the three gunmen responsible may also have been schoolboys.

Witnesses say three youths, aged about 16 or 17, fired three shots at the victim and fled in different directions.

One ran across the railway station overpass, dropping his weapon. He stopped to recover the gun and escaped.

Hundreds of students were milling around Bankstown City Plaza waiting for buses and trains when they heard shots ring out.

Police cordoned off the bus station and forensic officers examined the victim's schoolbag as it lay in a pool of blood.

Officers say they are searching for three Asian males, and that surveillance cameras may provide them with their best lead.