Three students were injured, none seriously, when a teacher accidentally discharged his firearm in class—during a gun safety course. Dennis Alexander, a teacher who also serves as a reserve police officer at Seaside High School in California, has been put on administrative after his gun shot into the ceiling accidentally. KSBW 8 news has some of the details of what happened.
A news release from the Seaside Police Department said no one suffered "serious injuries." One 17-year-old boy suffered moderate injuries when fragments from the bullet ricocheted off the ceiling and lodged into his neck, the student's father, Fermin Gonzales, told KSBW.
The teacher had just told the class that he wanted to make sure his gun wasn't loaded, when the gun fired, according to Gonzales.
It was loaded it seems. According to Gonzales, no one did much of anything after and his son returned with blood on his shirt at the end of the day, which led to him finding out what happened and calling in the incident HIMSELF, to the police.
Sand City Police Chief Brian Ferrante told KSBW, "I have concerns about why he was displaying a loaded firearm in a classroom. We will be looking into that."
Ferrante said Alexander has been a reserve Sand City police officer for the past 11 years, and described his track record as "positive and professional." The 2013 Reserve Officer of the Year is also a Seaside City Council member and Red Cross volunteer. KSBW interviewed Alexander in 2015 while he was volunteering for the Red Cross to help victims of the Tassajara Fire.
It is lucky that no one was seriously injured, physically. One thing to remember here is that there are no “accidental” discharges of firearms when firearms are not present.