A California teacher who also serves as a reserve police officer reportedly injured three students on Tuesday after he accidentally fired his weapon during a lesson on gun safety.
Dennis Alexander was about to show the class how to disarm someone when he pointed his gun at the ceiling to make sure it wasn’t loaded, local NBC affiliate KSBW 8 reported.
It was, in fact, loaded, and Alexander accidentally fired a shot into the ceiling. When the bullet fragments ricocheted, some of them flew into the neck of one 17-year-old student, his father told the TV station.
“He’s shaken up, but he’s going to be okay,” Fermin Gonzalez said.
“It’s the craziest thing … It could have been very bad.”
Gonzalez said he only learned about the accident when his son came home with blood on his clothing and the bullet fragments still embedded in his neck.
Alexander apologized for the incident, and both the Seaside High School and the Sand City Police Department quickly placed him on administrative leave. Police are investigating the matter.
“I have concerns about why he was displaying a loaded firearm in a classroom. We will be looking into that,” Sand City police chief Brian Ferrante told KSBW.
The incident underscores one of the main concerns expressed by critics of President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to arm certain teachers and eliminate “gun-free zones.”
Opponents argue that even people with the most extensive firearms training could make a mistake that turns fatal.