LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors vowed Friday to immediately retry a California middle school student who shot a gay classmate, maintaining that the incident was a premeditated murder and a hate crime despite doubts by some jurors in the initial trial, which ended with a hung jury and a mistrial.

However, Ventura County prosecutors said they are considering whether to again try Brandon McInerney as an adult — a choice that legal experts believe made it harder for them to win a conviction.

McInerney, of Oxnard, who was 14 at the time of the killing, would face up to life in prison if convicted as an adult. In the juvenile system, even convicted murderers are typically released at age 25.

Jurors on Thursday said they were deadlocked on a verdict, with seven favoring a voluntary-manslaughter conviction and five pushing for first- or second-degree murder. The jurors, who have not spoken to the media about the deliberations, told defense attorneys that they did not believe the killing amounted to a hate crime.