Bullet strikes elementary school; no one injured

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A bullet hit a school window on Wednesday morning.

Police were called to Freedom Preparatory Academy on Parkrose Avenue after a report of shots fired.

Officers located a bullet hole in one of the school’s windows.

No one was injured, but it’s unclear who fired the shot or if the school was the intended target.

Wednesday was the first day back at school for elementary students at Freedom Prep in Westwood.

“Many of our students heard the gunfire so they immediately started to duck, dodge and kind of react,” said Freedom Prep Charter Schools External Affairs Officer Tiffani Perry.

Memphis police say shots were fired in an area near the school Wednesday around 9:45 a.m., well into school hours.

The damage from a stray bullet is now covered while police try to find out where it came from.

“Unfortunately as educators in this community, we continue to be concerned about the violence, gun violence in our community that’s impacting our student’s ability to learn,” said Perry.

Freedom Prep Charter Schools External Affairs Officer Tiffani Perry says kids were taken to a safe area and the school went on soft lockdown.

She also says the type of glass in the window, slowed the speed of the bullet.

A social worker comforted students when it was all over.

“They just talked about that to talk about the emotions they have, most of our students walked away fine, but I think the biggest concern for me is how normal our students think gunfire is in this city,” said Perry.

After the Covenant School shooting in Nashville last year, lawmakers have pushed to toughen up safety at schools.

One-time funds for school security, planning, and training amount to $40 million for public schools and $14 million for non-public schools.

Perry believes more can be done on that front, and the entire community needs to get involved so families don’t have to worry about what could happen once their children are away at school.

“We have to all come together to figure out what is a solution to fighting crime, fighting gun violence to ensure our kids can just go to school and learn,” said Perry.

The school issued this statement afterward:

“While it is our goal and top priority to always provide a safe and secure learning environment for our students, overcoming the challenges related to crime and violence in the city of Memphis continues to be of concern for our entire school community.
This morning there was a random shooting in the Westwood neighborhood that took place near our FPA (Parkrose) campus. As a result of the gunfire, one of the classroom windows was struck by a stray bullet. While no students were injured, school administration immediately relocated students in the impacted classroom and neighboring classrooms to a safe place within the school building. The Memphis Police Department was notified and the school was placed on a soft lockdown until the area was secured. All outdoor activities were postponed as a result of this unfortunate situation. MPD investigated the incident, and all indications were that this was an isolated situation unrelated to our school. Our school social worker is currently working with students to discuss the incident and will be available in the upcoming days to support students, teachers, staff and our families. Again, please keep all those involved in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to navigate the daily challenges impacting our community."
Freedom Prep Academy

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.

Copyright 2024 WMC. All rights reserved.