Utah teacher shoots herself in the leg while at school:
A teacher in Utah accidentally shot herself in the leg Thursday inside an elementary school building.
Just before 9 a.m., Michelle Ferguson-Montgomery accidentally discharged her gun while using a faculty restroom at Westbrook Elementary School in Taylorsville, the principal said in a letter to students’ parents. The incident occurred before school hours, and no children nor staff were present. The teacher was in legal possession of her gun on school property.
State law allows individuals to obtain a concealed-weapons permit and carry firearms onto school campuses, following the completion of a safety training course. Educators in possession of a weapon on school property must keep it with them at all times to prevent a student from finding the gun in a drawer or cabinet. The law does not, however, permit administrators to identify the faculty members who are eligible for licenses.
“Neither the district nor school can restrict access to our campuses for concealed weapons permit holders,” Principal Karen Chatterton wrote Thursday in the letter. “While this can be a highly emotional issue, we encourage you to have civil dialogue with our elected officials.”
Ferguson-Montgomery, who teaches sixth grade, did not experience life-threatening injuries. But crisis counselors were available subsequently for faculty and students who were concerned about the event.
A similar incident occurred in another state just last week when a professor accidentally discharged his handgun and shot himself in the foot while walking on the campus of Idaho State University. A new law that went into effect earlier this year on July 1 allows Idaho residents to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.
