BAYTOWN, Texas -- A 14-year-old gave birth to a baby in a junior high school bathroom and tried to flush the newborn down the toilet, killing the infant, police told KPRC Local 2.

Baytown police said the eighth-grade student delivered the near full-term baby at Cedar Bayou Junior High School, located at 2600 Elvinta, on Wednesday morning while she was alone.

The baby was born alive, investigators said.

"We understand that the baby was alive when it was born and that the girl attempted to flush the child down the toilet. The child died as a result of these actions," said Lt. Eric Freed of the Baytown Police Department.

Another student who walked into the restroom heard the baby crying and ran to get the nurse and assistant principal. But by the time they arrived, officials said, it was too late.

The case is being treated as a homicide, detectives said. Police have not said if the baby was a boy or a girl.

"According to everyone I talked to, no one knew that she was pregnant," said Kathy Clausen of the Goose Creek Independent School District.

The unidentified girl was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.

The baby's father is not yet known.

A letter was sent home to parents about the incident.

School counselors will be on hand at the school on Thursday for any students or faculty who want to talk.

"The staff handled it beautifully. I can't tell you they weren't upset because they were. Everyone was upset. It's a very upsetting situation. It's a sad situation," Clausen said.

As news of the tragedy spread throughout the community, parents rushed to the school to pick up their children.

Albert Contreas braced himself for a difficult discussion with his son.

"One life being flushed down the commode. It's God's creation. You don't mess around with God's creation," he said.

Even though the case is being investigated as a homicide, detectives said they are looking into the possibility that the baby's death could have been an accident.

Baytown, Texas, is located about 25 miles east of downtown Houston.

This is the second Houston-area 14-year-old to secretly deliver a baby this week.

A fetus was found in a trash bin aboard a Continental Airlines jet on Sunday. Investigators determined the fetus was stillborn and the Harris County District Attorney's Office declined to press charges against the mother.