News 8
Man injured in shooting at Dallas elementary school 
12:40 PM CST on Monday, November 16, 2009
Umphrey Lee Elementary School
DALLAS — A Dallas ISD employee was wounded Monday morning when he accidentally shot himself on the campus of Umphrey Lee Elementary School.
No students were hurt.
The unidentified man — who has grandchildren at the school — is employed as a maintenance worker with the district's heating and cooling unit, but was apparently not at the school for any scheduled work.
Witnesses said he was leaning over when the gun — concealed in either his waistband or pocket — discharged.
It was not clear why he was carrying a weapon, but it is a third-degree felony to carry any type of gun on a school campus. Signs around the school proclaim it to be a "gun free" zone.
"It's crazy," said parent Laquecia Smith after learning of the incident. "Why is a gun here when it's supposed to be gun-free?"
The injured man was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to his inner thigh; his condition was not available.
There was no lockdown at the school, at 7808 Racine Drive in the city's Red Bird neighborhood.
Lee Elementary, like other grade schools in the DISD, does not have metal detectors at entrances.
E-mail ccivale@wfaa.com
