Firearm-Safety Instructor Resigns after Accidentally Firing Gun in School Cafeteria

The gun-safety instructor who accidentally fired a weapon before a class on the campus of Salem Lutheran Church and School has resigned from his position, the Pioneer Press reports.

Stillwater Police were called to the school on April 11 to assist the Minnesota DNR during an investigation that a 76-year-old Cottage Grove man accidentally discharged a weapon just prior to the start of a gun-safety class.

No one was injured as a result of the incident. The bullet was found lodged in the wall of the cafeteria.

The incident, according to the police report, started when someone in the class approached the teacher asking about a 1911 Colt 45 handgun that was on display in the instructor's gun case.

He told the teacher he wasn’t familiar with the gun and questioned the teacher about it being partially cocked.

At that point the instructor picked up the 1911 Colt 45 and showed the man the different types of safeties on the gun—all while pointing it away from the eight kids and their parents who were getting ready for the class to begin.

While the teacher was explaining the different types of safeties on the gun, the handgun discharged, causing a bullet to go through the wall of the cafeteria.

The instructor told police "he assumed the weapon was empty."

The witness who was asking questions about the gun told police the instructor “used good muzzle control” and at no time “was the barrel of the gun ever pointed towards anyone.”

The class the instructor was scheduled to teach in May has been canceled, Mike Hammer, education programs coordinator for the DNR told the Pioneer Press.

The Stillwater City Attorney’s Office declined to press charges in the case.