​Teacher Who Was Given Gun Accidentally Fires It In Class And Injures Student

A high school teacher in California accidentally fired a during class, injuring a student who had to be taken to hospital.

Dennis Alexander - a maths and administration of justice teacher at Seaside High, and also a reserve officer for Sand City Police Department - accidentally discharged the firearm during a gun safety demo, Monterey County Weekly reports.

Police Chief Abdul Pridgen said that, while nobody was seriously injured in the incident, a male student was hit in the neck by 'debris or fragmentation', and was taken to the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula for treatment.

Prigden said that it was important for people to realise that what hit the student's neck was neither a bullet, nor 'life threatening'.

PA

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District has now also issued a lengthy statement about what happened, which said: "We want to make you aware of an accident that occurred in the Administration of Justice class today at Seaside High School. As some of you may know, the teacher is a reserve police officer.

"Today, during class, the teacher accidentally discharged his firearm during a lesson while it was pointed at the ceiling. Debris from the ceiling then fell.

"Upon learning of the incident, our Human Resources department, school site administration and the Seaside Police Department immediately began investigating the incident, including interviewing students in the class.

The statement continued: "In discussion with your student, if he/she has information to share that has not already been shared, please direct the student to me.

"We will also have counseling services available for students.

"Due to the nature of this personnel incident, we are unable to share any other details. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave for the duration of the on-going investigation. The safety of your student is always our top priority, and we will continue to remain vigilant in our efforts to keep them safe while they are under our care."

Sand City Police Chief Brian Ferrante has said that Alexander has now been put on administrative leave, pending the outcome of his department's investigation to determine if any safe handling policies were violated.

MPUSD superintendent PK Diffenbaugh added that it is against state law and district board policy to have a non-authorised individual carry a firearm on campus, and that Alexander - who apparently had had his last gun safety training a little less than a year ago - was not authorised by the school district to have one.

Topics: News, US News, california

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

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