Michael Grassie: I heard the pop, felt the impact, looked down and saw the blood.
Michael Grassie says he has total recall of the day of the shooting -- and total recall of the look on Asa Coon's face -- as the teenager burst into his classroom brandishing a pair of weapons; and stared down his World History teacher.
Michael Grassie: Anger. Total anger. Real hatred. Something I haven't seen on a 14-year-old's face before.
Grassie wanted to speak publicly before leaving MetroHealth Medical Center, asking for privacy afterward,as he begins rehabilitation. He has not even considered when he might return to teach.
Surgeon Jeffrey Claridge of MetroHealth agreed that Grassie is fortunate to be able to go home, after the damage done by the gun of Asa Coon.
Jeffrey Claridge: He hit his pancreas and his spleen, but he missed his aorta by about an inch. You know he wouldn't even be close to going home at this point.
Grassie did not hide his bitterness toward the school system, and several times stated that better security had been needed, and requested, but never granted.
Now he says society needs to look outward from this incident.
Michael Grassie: We need to take a look at our values, and see where we're headed, and try to stop the Asa Coons of the world before they become the Asa Coons of the world."
Rick Jackson, 90.3.