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A 14-year-old Burien girl who was struck with a bullet or pellet as she was walking home from school on Monday is recovering, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Sgt. Cindi West, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office, said that investigators still do not know whether the girl was hit by a pellet or low-caliber gunfire because physicians have not removed the projectile. She said that is not uncommon for physicians to delay surgery in such cases as they weigh the damage the removal could cause.

“We don’t know what it is yet,” West said today. “We’re going to talk to her and see if we can determine what it is from an X-ray.”

There have been no arrests.

A bullet from a .22-caliber firearm could have traveled a longer distance than a pellet, she said.

The eighth-grader was in the 16600 block of 21st Avenue Southwest around 3:45 p.m. when she heard a pop and then was struck in the side, West said.

The principal of St. Francis of Assisi School sent an email to parents of the students, saying that witnesses said “the shot came from the passenger side of a red car.”

West said detectives have not been able to confirm where the shot came from.