SEASIDE, Calif. - The Latest on a teacher who accidentally fired a gun in a California classroom, injuring 3 students (all times local):

3:10 p.m.

A school district spokeswoman says the teacher who accidentally fired his gun inside a California classroom was not authorized to have a firearm at school.

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District spokeswoman Marci McFadden told The Associated Press that only school resource officers are authorized to carry guns.

She said Dennis Alexander is "a teacher and was not authorized to carry a firearm on campus."

She said authorities are investigating why Alexander had a gun in the classroom and if school officials were aware of his intention to bring one to class.

Police say Alexander was teaching a gun safety lesson for his administration of justice class when his gun accidentally went off and injured three students.

Efforts to reach Alexander were not immediately successful.

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12:30 p.m.

The mother of a 17-year-old student who was injured when his teacher accidentally fired his gun inside a California classroom says she is still in shock the class continued while her son sat there unchecked.

Crystal Gonzales tells The Associated Press the accident at Seaside High School happened Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and that police arrived at the school to investigate three hours later.

Gonzales says her son sustained moderate injuries when bullet fragments lodged in his neck.

She says that after the class ended, her son went to a relative's home and called her to tell her what happened.

Gonzales says she and her husband then took their son to a hospital to make sure no shrapnel was left in his neck.

She says her son is fine but she is still upset because she says no one called a nurse or paramedics to check on the injured students.

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3:48 a.m.

Police say a teacher in California accidentally fired his gun in a classroom, injuring three students.

It happened Tuesday at Seaside High School as Dennis Alexander was teaching a gun safety lesson for his administration of justice class.

Police say Alexander, who also serves as a reserve police officer, was pointing the gun at the ceiling to make sure it was not loaded when the weapon discharged.

Three students were injured by debris, including a 17-year-old whose father told KSBW-TV his son sustained moderate injuries when bullet fragments lodged in his neck.

Alexander was placed on administrative leave from his teaching job and he was also placed on administrative leave at the Sand City Police Department.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018