Tweet
Published Sep 11 2014
A Taylorsville elementary school teacher somehow shot herself in the leg while in a school restroom.
The 6th-grade teacher, Michelle Ferguson-Montgomery, was in a faculty restroom at Westbrook Elementary School (3451 W. 6200 South) on Thursday morning when her handgun went off, said Ben Horsley, spokesman of Granite School District.
The accidental shooting occurred at a little before 9 a.m., before school started. No students were around at the time, Horsley said.
The bullet entered and exited Ferguson-Montgomery’s leg, and she was taken to Intermountain Medical Center, where she was listed in good condition later Thursday. Horsley confirmed that she had been released from the hospital as of Thursday afternoon and is taking the rest of the week off.
She has taught at Westbrook Elementary for 14 years.
"Student safety is our primary concern and we are grateful that the injuries sustained by this teacher are not life threatening and that no students or other faculty were injured," the district said in a written statement.
Granite School District police are still investigating how the handgun discharged.
He said several faculty members went to the restroom after hearing the gunshot and came to Ferguson-Montgomery’s aid.
Although no other faculty or students witnessed the shooting, they might have heard the gunshot or seen the teacher as she was taken out of the school to the hospital, Horsley said.
Crisis counselors were available and a substitute was brought in for the teacher’s class, though Horsley declined to say which grade she teaches.
More news
Comment