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  • 2018-03-15 (xsd:date)
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  • Did a Firearms-Trained Teacher Accidentally Discharge a Gun in a Classroom, Injuring a Student? (en)
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  • On 13 March 2018, one day before a scheduled nationwide student walkout protesting Congress's inaction on gun violence in the United States, reports surfaced that a teacher trained in the use of firearms had accidentally fired his handgun in a California high school classroom, injuring at least one student. According to a local press coverage, the incident occurred during a gun safety class at Seaside High School in Seaside, California. The Monterey County Herald reported: The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD) released a statement the same day which read, in part: The school district informed us that the teacher has been with Seaside High School since 1994 and formerly taught mathematics, though more recently his only responsibility was teaching the Administration of Justice course during which the accident occurred. MPUSD declined to comment further, noting that the matter is still under investigation and there have been multiple and differing accounts of the incident and the response immediately following. Some early press reports said that as many as three students had suffered superficial injuries, but according to the most recent coverage only one student, a 17-year-old male, was confirmed injured. Chief Abdul D. Pridgen of the Seaside Police Department said the wound was caused by a bullet fragment or debris falling from the ceiling. The student was treated at a local hospital and released. MPUSD superintendent Daniel PK Diffenbaugh told KSBW-TV News that among the questions that need to be answered is why a teacher was pointing a loaded gun at the ceiling in front of students. Clearly in this incident protocols were not followed, he said. Coincidentally, a similar incident occurred the same day at a middle school in Alexandria, Virginia. Police reported that a school resource officer accidentally discharged his pistol while sitting down in his office at George Washington Middle School. No injuries were reported, and the officer, a five-year veteran of the police department, was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. The accident brought the total number of confirmed gunfire incidents in U.S. schools so far in 2018 to 32, according to the gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety. Both accidents added fuel to an ongoing national debate over proposals by the Trump administration, the National Rifle Association, and other gun rights advocacy groups to arm teachers to defend their students in the event of school shootings. According to a March 2018 poll of National Education Association members, educators overwhelmingly reject such proposals as ill-conceived, preposterous, and dangerous. Supporters of the proposals say arming and training teachers and other school personnel would make classrooms more safe, not less. (en)
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