Students injured when Monterey County teacher accidentally fires handgun in class

SEASIDE — A teacher injured three students Tuesday when he accidentally fired a gun inside a Seaside High School classroom, according to reports.

The teacher was identified as Dennis Alexander, a reserve police officer for the Sand City Police Department and a Seaside councilman. Alexander was teaching a course about gun safety as part of his administration of justice class when he fired a single shot from a semi-automatic handgun into the ceiling, the Monterey County Herald and KSBW reported.

One 17-year-old student was hit in the neck by debris or a fragment after the bullet ricocheted off the ceiling, said Seaside police Chief Abdul D. Pridgen. The student was not seriously injured and classes resumed.

The shooting occurs amid intense debate over whether to arm teachers in the wake of the Parkland, Fla. shooting that left 17 dead and another 17 injured. On Wednesday, students across the country are set to walk out of their classrooms to raise awareness about gun violence and safety.

Alexander has taught the course in the past, but Pridgen said he did not know if he had ever brought a loaded firearm to the school before Tuesday, the Herald reported. An investigation is underway.

“We’re looking into any violation of city ordinance or the penal code and we’ll determine whether or not there are any applicable charges,” Pridgen told the Herald.

Alexander had just told the class he wanted to make sure the firearm was not loaded when it went off, Fermin Gonzales, the father of the 17-year-old student who was injured, told KSBW.

“It’s the craziest thing. It could have been very bad,” he said.

Sand City police Chief Brian Ferrante told KSBW, “I have concerns about why he (Alexander) was displaying a loaded firearm in a classroom. We will be looking into that.”

Ferrante said Alexander has been a reserve Sand City police officer for the past 11 years, and described his track record as “positive and professional,” KSBW reported. The 2013 Reserve Office of the Year is also a Seaside City Council member and Red Cross volunteer.

In an email to parents, the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District said, “Upon learning of the incident, our Human Resources department, school site administration and the Seaside Police Department immediately began investigating the incident, including interviewing students in the class.”

The letter also stated that the district is unable to share any other details other than Alexander has been placed on administrative leave for the duration of the on-going investigation.

Share and Enjoy

Trump shake-up takes down Tillerson

President TrumpDonald John TrumpAccuser says Trump should be afraid of the truth Woman behind pro-Trump Facebook page denies being influenced by Russians Shulkin says he has White House approval to root out ‘subversion’ at VA MORE fired Secretary of State Rex TillersonRex Wayne TillersonFormer WH adviser: Trump will want to rejoin Paris climate pact by 2020 Why the US should lead on protecting Rohingya Muslims ‘Bolivarian Diaspora’ can no longer be ignored MORE on Tuesday in what many at the White House believe could be the first of a new round of high-profile changes within the administration.

White House officials were not sorry to see Tillerson go, viewing him as an ineffective leader who was rarely on the same page as Trump.

In a sign of the bitterness between the White House and Tillerson’s circle, officials joked about fighting for the right to fire one of Tillerson’s top spokesmen, Steven Goldstein, who had issued a statement that differed from the White House account of the secretary’s exit.

Tillerson did not thank the president in his farewell speech and barely mentioned him, underscoring the bad blood.

In his own remarks, Trump said he and Tillerson were never on the same “wavelength” while heaping praise on CIA Director Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoThe CIA may need to call White House to clarify Russia meddling Intel agencies to brief officials from all 50 states on election threats Russia probe complicating House hearing on threats facing US: report MORE, whom he nominated as the next secretary of State.

Trump signaled that more changes could be on the way.

“I’m really at a point where we’re getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that I want,” he said.

Veterans Affairs Secretary David ShulkinDavid Jonathon ShulkinShulkin says he has White House approval to root out ‘subversion’ at VA Overnight Energy: Dems ask Pruitt to justify first-class travel | Obama EPA chief says reg rollback won’t stand | Ex-adviser expects Trump to eventually rejoin Paris accord Overnight Defense: First Gitmo transfer under Trump could happen ‘soon’ | White House says Trump has confidence in VA chief | Russia concedes ‘dozens’ of civilians injured in Syria clash MORE could be next on the chopping block. Shulkin has been badly hobbled by an inspector general report that found he misused taxpayer money for lavish vacations. Shulkin has also been clashing with Trump political appointees on his own staff. The New York Times reported on Tuesday evening that Shulkin could be replaced by Energy Secretary Rick PerryJames (Rick) Richard PerryTrump, Pence to address CPAC this week Overnight Energy: EPA penalties for polluters cut in half under Trump | Court orders regulators to implement Obama efficiency rules | Sully weighs in on Pruitt’s first-class travel Energy Department to invest .5M in projects aiming to improve the performance of coal MORE.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster has been on thin ice for some time. Like Tillerson, he has never clicked with the president.

Trump has long expressed his frustration with Attorney General Jeff SessionsJefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsUnder pressure, Trump shifts blame for Russia intrusion Overnight Tech: Judge blocks ATT request for DOJ communications | Facebook VP apologizes for tweets about Mueller probe | Tech wants Treasury to fight EU tax proposal Overnight Regulation: Trump to take steps to ban bump stocks | Trump eases rules on insurance sold outside of ObamaCare | FCC to officially rescind net neutrality Thursday | Obama EPA chief: Reg rollback won’t stand MORE, blaming him for Robert MuellerRobert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russia probe MORE’s special counsel investigation and fuming that he has not done enough to investigate Democrats.

And chief of staff John KellyJohn Francis KellyMORE, once viewed as untouchable, has been under fire for his defense of a senior aide who resigned after being accused of domestic abuse by both of his ex-wives. The president is also believed to be frustrated by the narrative in the press that Kelly acts as his minder.

Trump has developed a reputation for venting against those who displease him, allowing them to twist in the wind with their futures in doubt rather than firing them outright.

But some in Trump’s inner circle think the president could use the momentum from Tillerson’s ouster for a purge.

“He needs to spend every day this week cleaning house so that the public and the press are so overwhelmed by the changes that there’s not enough time to absorb them all,” said one top Republican with deep ties to the administration. “That way, three weeks from now, it’s over, the Band-Aid is off and we’re back to focusing on the agenda.”

While the Tillerson news was cheered at the White House, the seemingly constant state of upheaval and turnover in the West Wing has been demoralizing to staff.

On Tuesday, the White House was reeling from the loss of John McEntee, Trump’s personal assistant, who was well-liked in the West Wing and close with the president. McEntee appears to be the latest casualty of Kelly’s enforcement of the security clearances process.

Other recent departures include communications director Hope HicksHope Charlotte HicksJohn Kelly — like this whole White House — is done Mueller interviews former Trump legal spokesman: report Liberals undermine #MeToo with partisan attacks MORE, staff secretary Rob Porter, senior adviser Jared KushnerJared Corey KushnerKushner resisting giving up top access amid scrutiny over security clearances: report Kelly says he has ‘full confidence’ in Kushner on foreign policy White House: Security clearance review won’t affect Kushner MORE’s spokesman Josh Raffel and Kushner’s longtime family friend Reed Cordish. Those departures have left the White House with big shoes to fill in key roles.

“It’s one thing when it’s expected, no one will shed a tear over Tillerson,” said one GOP operative with close ties to the White House. “But when it’s unexpected, like with McEntee — the punch that hurts the most is the one you don’t see coming. That’s the kind of thing that shakes people to their core.”

The Hill asked a White House official on Tuesday what other changes were ahead, considering it is still so early in the week.

“I know, it feels like Friday,” the official said.

While Tillerson’s surprise ouster came as good news to the president’s allies, the sudden announcement and ensuing back and forth with the State Department had a whiff of chaos to it.

Trump announced over Twitter that Tillerson would be replaced by Pompeo moments after The Washington Post reported it.

“Rex and I have been talking about this for a long time,” Trump told reporters.

But Goldstein, the State Department spokesman, blasted out an email to reporters saying the move had come as a surprise to Tillerson.

The White House promptly fired Goldstein and scrambled to produce its own version of events.

Officials said Kelly called Tillerson twice between Friday and Sunday to tell him that he would be replaced upon his return from Africa.

“They wanted to let him know once the decision had been made, but waited until he got back to make an announcement,” an administration official said.

Speaker Paul RyanPaul Davis RyanRepublicans are avoiding gun talks as election looms The Hill’s 12:30 Report Flake to try to force vote on DACA stopgap plan MORE (R-Wis.) was informed of the decision on Monday during a conference call with Trump and Kelly.

That message did not trickle down to staff at State, sources tell The Hill, as Tillerson’s chief of staff Margaret Peterlin was pushing to hire new personnel on a conference call with White House officials as recently as Monday, apparently unaware that her boss had effectively been relieved of his duties.

Still, State Department career staff members had for months imagined Tillerson’s tenure would be short-lived and had even been wagering on how quickly it might happen.

In the past year, department staffers described the secretary as remote, secluded, unapproachable and opaque with underlings not in the upper echelons of his team.

“As secretary of State, you usually have a base of support that comes either from the foreign policy establishment, the foreign service crowd, the political crowd or the press,” said the senior Republican. “I’ve never seen someone so brilliantly unite all of those factions against them the way Tillerson did.”

Scott Wong contributed

Share and Enjoy