Bullet from nearby shooting floods East Oakland school cafeteria

Shooting on East Oakland corner sends bullet into school, flooding cafeteria

A bullet from a nearby street shooting in East Oakland ended up bursting a water pipe and flooding a school cafeteria.

OAKLAND, Calif. - Water cascaded down the side of the cafeteria at Lockwood Steam Academy in East Oakland early Wednesday after a bullet from a nearby shooting ended up in a pipe, officials said.

"One of those bullets entered our building, the cafeteria here, and it pierced a pipe and caused a flood," said John Sasaki, spokesman for the Oakland Unified School District.

The cafeteria had recently been remodeled, but Sasaki said the damage was limited, thanks to firefighters who noticed the flowing water.

"That really - no question - saved us from further damage, so we want to thank the Oakland Fire Department for being really Johnny-on-the-spot for us there and making sure that this is taken care of," Sasaki said.

Bullet from shooting block away 

What we know:

It all happened at about 4:45 a.m. as Oakland police responded to ShotSpotter reports of gunfire near 70th Avenue and Herbert Guice Way. Officers scoured the scene for evidence, and numerous yellow markers littered the intersection.

KTVU cameras spotted a Toyota Prius that had been hit by gunfire outside Bethel Baptist Church at 69th Avenue and Herbert Guice, which sits directly across the street from the elementary school's cafeteria.            

Officers also inspected the car for evidence. Police said no one was hit by the gunfire.

Alternate plans for students' food

What they're saying:

As the sun rose, school officials confirmed the pipe that was hit was in the attached kitchen. That meant district officials had to scramble to make sure students had fresh food for the day.

"We had to be very quick, very nimble and changing our plans," Sasaki said.

The district's nutrition services staff made sure students had bag lunches delivered to the campus. 

Those picking up children at the end of the day had a range of emotions.

"As long as they were safe and nothing actually happened, I mean I would have liked to hear about it, but it's a lot of kids, and they can't call to every parent," said Lashawnda Carter.

Sabrina Stokes said, "I feel good, but just hopefully that they find out what was really going down, why the bullets came this way over to the school."

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan