A Bronx middle school was on edge as the new school year began Thursday, a day after a teacher was gunned down in his classroom, something he said he “never expected.”
Special education teacher Jairo Colon, 33, was hit by a mysterious bullet that flew through a sixth-floor window at Junior High School No. 391 on Webster Street on Wednesday, a day before students were scheduled to return to school buildings.
“I was getting ready for class when I heard a popping noise at the window,” said the father of two, who took time off school to recover, “and then all of a sudden I started bleeding, but I didn't realise until someone in the classroom told me I was bleeding.”
Colon didn't know what happened, but then the pain began.
“I felt like I was being stabbed and the pain was getting worse,” said Colon, whose right hand was stitched and bandaged. “I ran downstairs and the paramedics came and took me to the hospital. They stitched me up and I'm OK now.”
“My hands got burned a little bit,” he continued, “but I'm OK.”
The bizarre ordeal began just before noon, when a gunshot cut through the morning noise and a bullet ripped through Colon's tall windows.
“I didn't know what to think,” the teacher said. “It was just weird being on the top floor, the sixth floor. I just couldn't imagine a bullet coming through the window and hitting me. I never thought something like that would happen.”
Police said the shooter did not appear to have targeted the school, but there was an increased police presence there as security guards were on guard for the first day of school.
Many children and parents were left shaken upon arrival Thursday morning.
“I'm a little worried,” said Jennifer Lara, a 33-year-old mother who had just dropped off her 10-year-old daughter at school. “It's the start of the school year and it's already started. This is not a good sign.”
“I don't feel safe,” said Jessica Guzman, 39, the mother of an 11-year-old sixth-grader.
“I worry about my daughter,” Guzman said. “I wouldn't let her walk home from school alone. I'm always thinking, 'What if my kids are there?'”
“It could be even more dangerous. [the shooter] “If the explosive had hit a student, in the worst case scenario, that student could have been killed,” she continued. “The building is on the sixth floor! Isn't even the sixth floor safe?”
The children were also worried.
“I want to change schools,” the 11-year-old said in a trembling voice. “I feel uneasy.”
Others were not happy about it, even if all the police were outside to protect them.
“He's not comfortable walking here and sees all the police,” Crystal, a 35-year-old home health aide, said of her seventh-grader. “I know it's for his safety, but it makes him feel uneasy.”
A social worker who gave her name as Berecia echoed their complaints, saying the shooting “should never have happened.”
But she advised parents to talk to their children about it and gauge their feelings as they try to make sense of what's going on.
“If your child is uncomfortable, it's not a good environment for learning,” she says. “Be aware of your child's anxiety levels and feelings and address them immediately. It's a shame we live in such a society…” [but] We have to empower our kids.”
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark also attended the school's grand opening “to make sure everyone was safe.”
“Thank God everything seems to be OK,” she said. “It could have been a lot worse, so I'm just so grateful that everything worked out.”
“This is supposed to be a safe place,” Clark continued, adding that her office was still investigating the shooting, “and we shouldn't have bullets flying through our windows.”
The district attorney said he spoke with the principal, who, although “concerned,” remained firm.
“We're going to get through this,” Clark said, “but we're going to get to the bottom of it and hold those responsible accountable.”
One parent described the situation as “not good.”
“I'm worried about their safety,” said Alexander Campbell, a 33-year-old father who showed up with his two sons.
“Kids have to go to school. How do we ensure their safety if things like this are happening? How do we know they're safe?”
One of his sons, 12-year-old Noel Alexander, felt the same way.
“If school had started yesterday when this happened, I would have been inside the building,” the seventh-grader said in a hushed voice.
“And maybe I'll get shot. That's what makes me nervous.”
