Teacher from metro Detroit grazed by bullet protecting students in Florida shooting

(WJBK) - As the nation copes with the loss from the Florida school shooting, one proud father shares the story of his son-in-law, a teacher at the school in Parkland.

Lee Porter says his daughter Andrea and son in law Ernie both teachers at Douglas High School, where the shooting took place.

"Ernie texted my wife to let her know that they were both OK," he said.

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He says his son in law Ernie thought it was a fire drill but soon learned it wasn't.

"Ernie heard two shots. So he hurried up and pushed his kids back in the room. Told them to get to the back of the class and get down. Then he shut the door. When this guy was coming down the hall that's when he shot Ernie in the face," he said.

Even after being grazed by a bullet, he got more kids to safety upstairs, then hid in a bathroom.

"He's always thinking of everyone else," Lee said,

Andrea was in another part of the school, and made it out safe. Her dad, a Vietnam veteran, says he's now thinking of what's to come for his loved ones after suffering so much trauma.

"It's not going to leave you," he said.

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When mass shootings happen like Wednesday's in Florida, psychiatrist Dr. Joel Young says his phone rings off the hook with parents looking for advice to calm their anxious children. 

Dr. Young says he believes 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz had antisocial personality disorder and says that causes someone to have a lack of empathy for others.

"They really don't understand compassion. It's almost as i their brain make that emotion, doesn't connect," he said.

The teen's social media footprint shows a pattern of violence. He made comments that he wanted to be professional school shooter - there are even photos him harming animals. Dr. Young says these are classic warning signs.

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"Even if these cases get to the right hands it' still very hard to impose a solution," he said.

Dr. Young says when this happens, he sees an influx of patients worried about becoming victims of a mass shooting.

"The ripple effect up here in Michigan is clear, our phones are ringing off the hook," he said.