A month after a Texas district voted to allow school employees to carry firearms on campus, a mechanical malfunction following a concealed handgun class has injured one of its workers, according to reports.
The employee from the Van Independent School District had stayed for one-on-one training after class with the concealed handgun license training instructor on Tuesday when a mechanical malfunction with his weapon caused his gun to misfire, NBC affiliate KETK reported. The bullet ricocheted, striking the employee in the left leg; his injury was not life-threatening, the affiliate said.
After being treated at the scene, the employee was transferred to the nearby city of Tyler for treatment, according to KETK.
ABC affiliate KLTV.com in East Texas reported that the man who was injured in Tuesday's incident was a maintenance worker at the school, and that he was in fair condition.
Van Independent School District, located about an hour east of Dallas, decided on Jan. 23 to authorize certain school employees to carry concealed handguns on school property and school events, KETK reported. The decision came a week after another school district in the area, Union Grove, passed a similar measure.
Per state law, school employees need to get a weapons license to carry a concealed handgun on school property. KLTV reported Tuesday's incident was after a school-sponsored weapons class, but it was unclear whether it was held on school grounds.
