LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 -- An elementary school teacher was shot in the forehead and critically wounded Thursday by a stray bullet in front of nearly two dozen fifth-grade students. Police spokeswoman Lorie Taylor said the shot was fired about 9 a.m. outside Figueroa Street Elementary School in South-Central Los Angeles, and the bullet went through a window in the school's library, where teacher Alfredo Perez was teaching 23 students. None of the children were injured. Authorities said the shooting may have been part of a gang-related gun battle, and Deputy Police Chief Mark Kroeker noted, 'it's the worst possible location to have a gunfight.' 'Mr. Perez was hit by one of these stray rounds in the head,' Kroeker said. 'He went down in front of his kids in the classroom.' The teacher was listed in extremely critical condition at Martin Luther King-Drew Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. 'His prognosis will be guarded for hours and days depending on what happens at each step,' Dr. Arthur Flemming said. Another bullet hit a classroom window on the second story of the building, but no one was injured. One girl in that class said her teacher told students to get under their desks. Police took several people into custody for questioning, but said no arrests had been made in connection with the shooting. Perez's students were being counseled by school district psychologists, said Dan Isaacs, assistant superintendent. Counseling also was available for other students as well as teachers who were upset by the shooting, and some parents took their children home for the day.
'These kids are not going home until somebody has had a chance on a priority basis to talk with them,' School District Superintendent Sid Thompson said. 'They'll talk with parents. They're going to get a lot of extra attention.' Thompson said Perez was described as a 'good teacher' who was 'very dear' to his students, and that 'obviously they're affected.' 'I heard the shots and then the broken glass,' said a boy from Perez's class, who spoke to a reporter in Spanish. 'I went down on the floor for cover. I was really scared, and then when I looked up, I saw my teacher and he was bleeding. I'm scared.'
