San Leandro Teacher Tells Class, 'I Have Shot Kids'

SAN LEANDRO, CA — The San Leandro Unified School District said it's investigating what it called " inappropriate statements" made by a middle school teacher after recordings surfaced of him telling a class that he had shot kids, and that one student was lucky the teacher could no longer put his hands on the student.

The comments made by a teacher at Bancroft Middle School were recorded and posted on Facebook, KTVU first reported.

In one recording, confirmed by Patch, the teacher dresses down an unruly student, mentioning he served in the military and would not permit back-talk from a student.

"I’ve been through three tours in combat in the most dangerous places on Earth, and I am not in a position to let some kid talk back to me," the teacher reportedly said in the recording. "Period. That’s just how it is. I have shot kids younger than him."

In a separate recording, the same teacher tells a student he's about 20 percent undersized for his age, and suggests that when he goes to high school, he learns how to "shut [his] mouth."

"Because guys like me who are way, way bigger than you, are going to pound your little butt into the ground," the teacher said.

In another recording, the teacher tells some students their brain levels are about five years younger than their peers.

"So to anybody else that's not on your low intellectual level, you're not coming off as funny, you're not coming off as witty, you're coming off as stupid and pathetic," the teacher said. "I'm just letting you know how it is."

The teacher in another recording tells a student he's lucky times have changed, and that he can't physically take him out of the classroom.

Michael McLaughlin, superintendent of the school district, said in a letter to the community the district is investigating "inappropriate statements made by a teacher at Bancroft Middle School to students in their class."

The teacher, whose name wasn't immediately released, was removed from the classroom pending the outcome of the investigation, the superintendent said.

The district offered support to Bancroft students, staff and families affected by the teacher's comments, McLaughlin said. He asked people with direct information about the remarks to share with the Bancroft administration directly, and not repost videos or audio recordings due to student privacy concerns.