Teacher shot in Wilmer Hutchins High School attack speaks out on trauma and future in education
Teacher shot in Dallas ISD school shooting speaks out
The Dallas high school teacher says a stray bullet entered a classroom and grazed her on the right side of her face, just inches away from her right eye during the April 15 school shooting.
DALLAS - The April 15 shooting at Wilmer Hutchins High School hurt five people, four students and a teacher.
Fox 4’s Casey Stegall spoke with that math teacher about those terrifying moments.
Teacher recaps shooting
Columbia Renix
Columbia Renix, a new mother at the time, had only been teaching at Wilmer Hutchins High School for a few months, when the April 15 shooting broke out.
She was in a neighboring classroom, cleaning her breast pump as gunfire erupted in the hallway.
Police say at least one bullet pierced the wall and hit Renix in the face.
What they're saying:
"We heard the first shot, but we didn’t know what it was," said Renix. "If the first shot would not have went through the room, I wouldn’t have been prepared, so it would have went through the back of my head."
She says the force was so powerful it blew her eyeglasses right off.
"The second one came through the wall and that’s what I remember is when it came through," said Renix. "I just know and remember feeling a burning sensation and grabbing my glasses."
Renix described that chaos was going on all around as the shooting took place.
"Immediately kids are texting or calling their parents… calling their aunts, their uncles, their guardians… their family members."
Now the question Columbia Renix grapples with: is it time to change professions or keep pursuing the one she loves?
"This can happen anywhere. It changes your mindset now. This can happen anywhere, at any time, and it has nothing to do with you," said Renix. "I’m just a teacher. I feel like I’ve done it for so long, I’m good at it, I like it."
Dig deeper:
Renix says Dallas ISD did provide her with a counselor in the early days, but she has hired her own therapist.
She tells FOX 4’s Casey Stegall that she's also pursuing her possible legal options.
The backstory:
Prosecutors say the accused gunman, 17-year-old Tracy Haynes, planned the attack.
His defense team argues self-defense, saying the family had been threatened by gangs.
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Dallas ISD: Wilmer-Hutchins H.S. shooting appears to be targeted attack
The Dallas ISD Police Department shared new details about a shooting that injured four students at Wilmer-Hutchins High School.
Haynes remains jailed on a $3.1 million bond.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by an interview conducted by FOX 4's Casey Stegall and Columbia Renix.