MATTHEWS, N.C. (AP) - Police have identified the North Carolina high school student who authorities say was fatally shot by a fellow student just before classes began.

  

Matthews Police Department Capt. Stason Tyrrell said at a news conference that 16-year-old Bobby McKeithen was shot Monday and died at a local hospital. McKeithen was a 10th-grader at Butler High School in Matthews, southeast of Charlotte.

  

Tyrrell said a 16-year-old ninth-grader is charged with first-degree murder and is being held in the Mecklenburg County jail. The Associated Press generally does not identify juveniles charged with crimes.

  

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox said the shooting appears to have stemmed from a case of bullying "that escalated out of control." Neither Wilcox nor Tyrrell said which student was being bullied.

  

Wilcox said classes at the high school have been canceled for Tuesday.