Teacher, 17-Year-Old Student Shot Outside TechBoston Academy In Dorchester
BOSTON (CBS) – There were no classes at TechBoston Academy in Dorchester Wednesday, a day after a teacher and a student were shot there. Police are still searching for the suspect.
Boston Police said a 31-year-old teacher and a 17-year-old student were getting ready for a school event in the parking lot around 5:40 p.m. Tuesday when someone opened fired from a car.
Both were rushed to the hospital with what officers described as "non-life threatening" gunshot wounds. There have been no arrests.
Deloise Oglesby lives nearby. She said her granddaughter was getting ready to go to a game at the school when the shots were fired.
"I could see the kids getting on the bus. So after that there I heard the 'Boom! Boom! Boom!' I thought it was a firecracker," Oglesby said.
"Schools are supposed to be a safe haven for our students and our teachers, not a place where they are subjected to brazen and random acts of violence," Acting Boston Police Commissioner Gregory Long told reporters Tuesday night. "This type of behavior can not and will not be tolerated, and the Boston Police Department is going to do everything it can to hold whoever is responsible for this incident accountable."
Sophomore Douglas Miller played football with the 17-year-old victim and believes he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"You come thinking it's a safe environment and stuff like that happens it throws you off," Miller said. "He made sure all of us were on track keeping a positive mindset. I don't know why anyone would want to hurt him."
"It's bad and it's never going to change," said Tyesha Hardy, the teen's aunt. "It seems you can't get away from violence."
In a statement, the Boston Teachers Union identified the educator who was shot as Khelmon Bethel.
Our thoughts are with both Khelmon Bethel, BTU educator at TechBoston, as well as the TechBoston student who were injured last night by gunfire while on a fan bus to a basketball game. This act of violence is unacceptable, and when we learned of the incident yesterday, we joined the Mayor and Superintendent to show support for the staff and school community last night and this morning. We are still learning the details of the incident, but know that both Khelmon and the student are both in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery.
Everyone deserves to feel safe at school or at school-sponsored events. We are working with the district to ensure that the students, families and staff at TechBoston have supportive resources to navigate this awful situation and that there is a solid a plan to address safety both at the school and in the larger community moving forward.
Boston Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said a crisis team was at the school Wednesday, calling it an "all hands on deck" situation to make sure a similar incident does not happen again.
"This is an unacceptable situation and we are going to do everything it takes to ensure each one of our schools, our parks, our communities are the safe, welcoming homes all of our students deserve," added Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.