A as he police said Wednesday.
The 33-year-old educator was inside his sixth-floor classroom at the at the corner of Webster Ave. and Folin St. in the Fordham section of the Bronx just before noon when someone fired off several shots outside.
A bullet flew through the window and grazed the teacher’s right arm, police said.
“Officers discovered a 33-year-old male with a graze wound to his right arm on the sixth floor of the building,” Deputy Chief at Patrol Borough Bronx Keiyon Ramsey said at a Wednesday press conference.
“The male victim is a teacher here at the school and was preparing his room for the first day of class [Thursday] when a bullet entered the classroom through a window, striking him.”
EMS rushed the teacher to St. Barnabas Hospital for treatment and he was later released.
There were no students in the school at the time of the shooting. The first day of the new school year is Thursday.
“Let me be clear, this bullet was not fired from inside the school and at this point in the investigation, we believe it was fired from a long distance range. The school was not targeted,” Ramsey said.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the gunman was targeting the teacher, or whether the window was opened or closed when the bullet struck the teacher.
Police recovered one bullet from the scene and checked nearby rooftops. No arrests have been made.
“This egregious display of violence is both upsetting and reprehensible. NYPD immediately responded to the scene where one educator sustained non-life-threatening injuries,” said Department of Education spokesperson Jenna Lyle.
The teacher was said to be eager to get back in the classroom after the incident.
“It is a terrible thing to have happen. We are thankful that the injury was not more serious. When I spoke to him, he kept saying he wanted to go back to the classroom, to be there for his students. New York City is extremely fortunate to have him and so many teachers like him,” said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers.
