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Texas police cadet charged after accidentally shooting classmates

The cadet’s firearm discharged when he reached into his backpack, striking two cadets in their calves and grazing another

Cadet Clayton Whatley.jpg

Clayton Whatley

Photo/ Texas City Police Department

Jay R. Jordan
Houston Chronicle

TEXAS CITY, Texas — A cadet in a Texas City police academy classroom is now behind bars after a gun he brought to class in his backpack went off, injuring three other cadets, police say.

Clayton Whatley, 21, was in class at the Mainland Law Enforcement Training Academy on Thursday night when he reached into his backpack, discharging the loaded firearm, according to the Texas City Police Department. A bullet struck two cadets in their calves and grazed a third, the department said.

The two cadets who were shot were rushed to University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston for treatment, police said. Their conditions were not immediately available.

The cadet who was grazed was treated on scene, police said.

Whatley was arrested and charged with unlawful carrying of weapons inside an institution of higher education. He is being held on a $5,000 bail amount.

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