Elementary Teacher Accidentally Shoots Herself In Leg At School
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah elementary school teacher who was carrying a concealed firearm at school accidentally shot herself in the leg when the weapon discharged in a faculty bathroom shortly before classes started Thursday morning, officials said.
Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley said the teacher at Westbrook Elementary School, in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville, was severely injured when the bullet entered and exited her leg, and she was rushed to a hospital. She was in good condition and alert at the hospital by midmorning, Horsley said.
No other faculty or students witnessed the shooting, but they might have heard the gunshot or seen the teacher as she was taken out of the school to the hospital, he said.
Classes were continuing as usual, and crisis counselors were available, Horsley said.
Officials were still investigating how the gun discharged. "This just appears at this point in time to be an accident," he said.
He wouldn't release details about the woman or what she taught, but he noted she was carrying the weapon legally with a concealed firearm permit.
Utah is among the few states that allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry guns in public schools, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Teachers are not required to disclose they're carrying a weapon, and administrators are prohibited from asking.
Educators have said they have no way of determining how many Utah teachers are armed, but gun-rights advocates have estimated that 1 percent, or about 240 teachers in the state, are licensed to carry weapons.
Under Utah law, teachers and staff without a concealed-carry permit can still bring a gun to school if an administrator approves, if they happen to live on school property, or if they work in law enforcement.
Horsley said the Granite School District requires teachers who carry guns at school to keep the weapons with them at all times, including inside a bathroom stall.
He said some people are surprised to learn about Utah's law and ask why teachers are allowed to have guns.
"That's frankly not a question we can answer," Horsley said. "That is a question for the state legislature."
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Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
