HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A bullet whizzed into a pre-kindergartenclassroom filled with 11 children Monday, somehow missing everyone in the room as a shooting outside the school left one man injured.
Police said the man, who had dropped off a child at the Catholic Academy of New Haven, was shot several times outside the building but is expected to survive. His name was not released. Officials said he was an acquaintance of the student’s mother and a caregiver for the child.
Police also said the victim had been acquitted of a murder charge, was recently released from prison and was a suspect in “numerous” shootings.
RELATED: One Injured, Two Arrested In Shooting At Atlanta’s Cumberland Mall [VIDEO]
Authorities were searching for the shooter Monday afternoon. The motive wasn’t immediately clear.
Of 10 shots fired, seven hit the school building, with one bullet entering a pre-kindergarten classroom, the Archdiocese of Hartford said in a statement. The archdiocese praised faculty and staff at the school for how they executed the crisis plan, which included a lockdown.
Assistant Police Chief Renee Dominguez said the shooter had no regard for children and adults at the school.
“Whatever the beef is between the innocent victims and the suspects, the community was put in danger here,” she said.
Dominguez added the victim will no longer be allowed to care for the child.
