Bullet pierces window at Allendale church pre-school

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A bullet pierced a window at a church preschool in St. Petersburg, police said Wednesday.

Forty-four children attend Allendale Children's Center at Allendale United Methodist Church. Eleven kids were in the classroom at around 3 p.m., when the incident happened. Fortunately, none of them were hurt.

"The children weren't very aware because it sounded like a rock," said Rev. Andy Oliver, Senior Pastor at the church. "We're of course very glad that no one was hurt. We had a plan in place and so as soon as the shot was fired, we locked down the church."

This isn't the first alarming incident at this church. Last year, a sign out front was vandalized because the congregation is known for being inclusive of the LGBTQ community.

Chief Anthony Holloway said it doesn't appear a shooter targeted the church this time, but he's not ready to rule out anything.

"It's not a direct shot into the school. What we can see is the energy from the bullet, the projectile, it landed right there at the windowsill," Holloway said. "It appeared maybe just a stray bullet. But again, we're not going to say that because we want to make sure we investigate everything possible."

The preschool is located at 3803 Haines Road near 38th Avenue North. Anyone who heard a gunshot in the area or has information about the incident should call St. Petersburg Police.