Oakland school shooting: OUSD worker grazed in head by bullet says teacher helped him to safety
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Among the victims at Rudsdale High School was an OUSD carpenter who was working on installing a trophy display case inside the school when the shooting ensued.
From his hospital bed, Jason Arbuckle is speaking for the first time. He went from working on a trophy case inside the Oakland school to hiding from gunfire.
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"Next thing you know, about 12:45 p.m. -- I know because I called 911 -- gunshots started ringing. I heard 'pow pow,' and I said 'Oh s**t.' I dipped down, and as I'm dipping down, I guess two more shots went off and one of those shots grazed me. It went in my head. It went in the back of my head and came up front under my scalp," Arbuckle said. "One of the students actually said 'Man, you are bleeding everywhere. You are just bleeding everywhere.'"
Arbuckle remembers hitting the floor as he kept hearing gunshots go off around him. He found refuge inside a bathroom.
"A teacher came by and said, 'Is anyone in there?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm in here.' I said, 'I've been shot.' They said 'Oh come on. We got a classroom. We have other people that have been shot too. It's secured. It's locked down.' I said, 'Okay,' and they took me in," Arbuckle said.
He recalls walking into a classroom with a teacher and hearing students panicking. He said at least one of those students had been shot.
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"The guy started taking me underneath the sink and rinsing my head trying to get it cleaned up. He started wrapping my head up with a bandage," Arbuckle said.
Arbuckle is thanking that teacher for wrapping a cloth over his head to stop the bleeding.
"Just happy. I'm lucky. I'm here, alive, talking about it," said Arbuckle. "It wasn't my time to go yet. If it were my time, I would be laying there on the floor, but it isn't my time."
As he recovers, Arbuckle can't stop thinking about his five coworkers who were next to him. One of them was also shot.
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"I'm worried about my coworker. I know he was shot possibly through the abdomen. I'm more worried about him than me because I know I'm fine," he said.
Doctors told Arbuckle Thursday morning that they were unable to remove all the bullet fragments from his head. There's a chance he might have to undergo surgery in the future. He was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon.
As for his coworker, we reached out to his family but have not received an update on his current health condition.
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