MIAMI – (CBS4) – It’s been nearly four years since a Miami Carol City Senior High School teacher was shot outside the school in an attempted armed robbery.

Now, the man accused of pulling the trigger, Patrick Lively, will have his fate decided by a jury. On Tuesday, jury selection got underway in the case that stunned students and injured Sergio Miranda, a beloved math teacher at the high school.

The incident occurred on November 6th, 2007, that’s when police say Miranda had stepped outside the school at 3422 NW 187th St. during his lunch break to smoke a cigarette with a colleague.

Just then Lively approached the pair with the intention of robbing them, Miranda had reportedly laughed it off. But police say Lively was not kidding. He pulled the trigger, police said, and allegedly shot Miranda in the back.

Miranda survived, but had to undergo surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday.