A math teacher apparently injured students after discharging a handgun during a classroom firearm safety course

A bullet.
(Image credit: iStock.)

Three students were injured when a math teacher fired a semiautomatic handgun at the ceiling of a classroom during a firearm safety course on Tuesday at Seaside High School in Monterey County, California, NBC News reports. "It's the craziest thing," said Fermin Gonzales, whose 17-year-old son was apparently bruised by a bullet fragment. "It could have been very bad."

The math teacher, Dennis Alexander, teaches an administration of justice course, which is where he fired the weapon. He is also a reserve police officer for the Sand City Police Department, although since the incident he has been placed on administrative leave by both the school and the police department. School district officials told local reporters that Alexander had not been authorized to carry a firearm on the school grounds.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.