![Students were injured after a teachers gun discharges in class.[image source: Bahn Mi/Wikimedia]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/3/14/660x290/b_502x220x82/students-were-injured-after-a-teachers-gun-discharges-in-classimage-source-bahn-miwikimedia_1885993.jpg "Students were injured after a teachers gun discharges in class.[image source: Bahn Mi/Wikimedia]")
Three students were injured during a firearms safety course in a central California high school. According to police Chief Abdul Pridgen, Dennis Alexander accidentally discharged a semiautomatic weapon, aimed at the ceiling, and three students were subsequently injured by falling debris.
Investigations begin
One of the parents of the injured kids told KSBW that Pridgen was teaching the students how to disarm someone with a gun. During the demonstration, the gun accidentally went off shooting at the ceiling. Three students sustained minor injuries and were treated.
According to KSBW, some of the parents didn’t learn of the incident until their children got home. One 17-year-old student suffered a small bruise at the base of his neck when a fragment from the bullet ricocheted off of the ceiling, the student’s father, Mr. Gonzales, told KSBW.
Alexander is a reserve police officer for the Sand City Police Department who teaches math at Seaside High School in Monterey County. Alexander has been placed on administrative leave as the investigation continue, KSBW reported. Attempts to reach Mr. Alexander have not been successful. The school district officials claim Alexander was not authorized to carry a gun into the school compound. Pridgen said the police are trying to determine whether he violated a city ordinance or penal code by bringing the gun to school.
California laws prohibit anyone from carrying a concealed firearm to school compound without permission from authorized school officials.
The president supports the arming of teachers
Arming of teachers has been a controversial topic in the country following the massacre of 17 students and staff in Parkland, Florida in February.
Weeks after the shooting, Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill that raised the age for purchasing firearms and enabled arming of trained school staff. The governor did not agree with the arming of teachers but decided to sign as the law offered local districts a choice of whether to arm their teachers or not. Scott also added that bill represented a step forward by the state to protect every child in the area.
However, Republicans in the state do not agree with the new law and have expressed their concerns about increasing the age limit and funding the training of school staffs.
Donald Trump has signaled his support for the arming of school personnel. On Sunday, the White House proposed funding for firearm training and increased background checks.
