Charter Teacher Fatally Shot Outside Florida Home

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- A 61-year-old world history teacher was shot and killed when he stepped outside to see who rang his doorbell.

North Port Police say the shooting happened around 10 p.m. Tuesday after William Kenneth Ellis opened the front door. Police say Ellis' wife told them there was no conversation, just gunshots. She said she saw two people wearing dark clothes and masks running from the area.

A police report said neighbors reported a dark-colored, four-door sedan left the area.

Ellis was an original faculty member at Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto, where he also taught tae kwon do. He was known around the charter middle and high school as "Master Ellis" because of his martial arts skills.

Grief counselors were at the school on Wednesday.