Police: Teacher shot with pellet gun; injury superficial

BARRE, Vt. (AP) — Charges will be forthcoming after a high school teacher suffered a superficial injury after being hit with a projectile fired from a pellet gun that had been brought to school by a student, Barre police say.

Police say the incident occurred at about 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday as students at Barre’s Spaulding High School were being released for the day.

The Vermont incident came four days after a 6-year-old student in Newport News, Virginia, shot and wounded his teacher.

In the Vermont case, two students were identified as having brought pellet guns to school, one of which was reported to have been involved in the incident, police say.

In an email message Wednesday, Barre Police Chief Braedon Vail said he hoped to have an update on the case by the end of the week.

Vail didn’t indicate what specific charges may be filed. If the cases are heard in juvenile court, the proceedings would be confidential.

Chris Hennessey, the superintendent of the district that includes Spaulding High School, said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the case beyond what was contained in a social media post sent to the community.

He did say Wednesday that Spaulding High School was operating normally.

In the social media post, Spaulding administrators said they are working with Barre police to ensure the safety of the community.

“We’d like to re-emphasize to our students and staff the importance of ‘See something, Say something,’” the post said. “The willingness of just one person to speak up or reach out can make a difference in keeping the members of our community safe.”

Spaulding High School serves the Barre Unified Union School District, which serves an area with a total population about 17,500 people.

Barre is a community known for its granite industry, both extracting it from area quarries and working the stone into monuments and building materials.