NYC TEACHER HIT BY STRAY BULLET While Setting Up Classroom Before FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: Police
A stray bullet injured a New York City teacher on the eve of the first day of school while he was setting up his classroom, according to authorities.
The bullet came through the sixth-floor classroom window and struck the 33-year-old teacher in the right hand.
The event occurred shortly before noon on Wednesday at a Bronx middle school, according to the NYC Department of Education. Police suspect the bullet was fired from an elevated surface far away from M.S. 391.
“The school was not targeted,” Deputy Chief Kenyon Ramsey of the NYPD’s Patrol Borough Bronx told reporters at a news briefing Wednesday.
Ramsey claimed the teacher suffered a graze wound on the palm of his right hand. He was taken to a local hospital in stable condition and has since been discharged. Ramsey claimed that one discharged bullet was retrieved from the classroom and is currently being processed.
Police are investigating where the bullet came from and who fired it, according to Deputy Chief Louis Deceglie of the NYPD’s Detective Bureau Bronx Commanding Officer.
“We are currently searching all rooftops nearby, looking for both ballistic and video evidence,” Deceglie told reporters during Wednesday’s briefing.
There were no children in the classroom at the time of the shooting because school did not begin until Thursday. Ramsey also stated that there were no pupils present at the time.
“This egregious display of violence is both upsetting and reprehensible,” the DOE said in a statement. “The NYPD responded immediately to the scene, where one educator suffered non-life-threatening injuries.” We will provide additional support to the school community.”
The middle school will have more school safety agents and police officers on the first day of school on Thursday “out of an abundance of caution,” Ramsey stated.
