revelarts
08-22-2013, 07:15 AM
<header id="yui_3_9_1_1_1377173485355_277" class="header"> Georgia school shooting averted by a brave bookkeeper – and prayer Security plans put into place after the Newtown, Conn., shootings didn't keep a gunman from gaining entry Tuesday to a Georgia school, but they ensured a disciplined response to the crisis. A prayerful bookkeeper wasn't in the plan, but she saved the day.
A 20-year-old gunman who was talked into surrendering his assault rifle by a cool-as-a-cucumber bookkeeper after he allegedly stormed a school in Dekalb County, Ga., on Tuesday told police afterwards, “I’m sorry, I’m off my meds.”
A strong point, however, was the school’s bookkeeper, Antoinette Tuff, who emerged as a hero after apparently talking Mr. Hill into surrendering his weapons, in part by telling him about her own hard times, including a divorce that ended a 33-year marriage and the difficulties of starting a business.
“I just started praying for him," she told Atlanta's Channel 2 Action News (http://www.ajc.com/news/news/she-faced-down-suspect/nZT3X/). "I just started talking to him ... and let him know what was going on with me and that it would be OK. And then let him know that he could just give himself up."
After Hill allegedly exchanged brief gunfire with officers outside the front office, Ms. Tuff says she persuaded Hill to empty his pockets and pile his weapons on the front desk.
Eyewitness Account of the Georgia ShootingPlay video."
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/NeknqGJaFb3keB5cOV2wAQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE2OTtxPTg1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/video/video.abcnewsplus.com/0594f53257b392e193d75c052fb7d2e4
(http://news.yahoo.com/video/eyewitness-account-georgia-shooting-225751895.html)
"I told him, 'OK, we all have situations in our lives,’ " she said. "It was going to be OK. If I could recover, he could, too."
"He had me actually get on the intercom and tell everybody he was sorry too," she added.
"I give it all to God, I'm not the hero," she said. "I was terrified."
“I think that just happened to be the circumstance involved, she had the opportunity,” says Mr. Lang, who adds that school staff are usually not trained as negotiators. “That [skill and bravery] is something you either have or don’t have.”
Coming as America (http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/United+States)’s schoolchildren begin filtering back to school for a new year, the shots fired at the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy by a possibly unstable young man with a deadly arsenal may have only reinforced perceptions that people experiencing mental illness pose a serious risk to children's safety.
The incident also gave schools a chance to examine security plans put into place after the shootings last December in Newtown, Conn. (http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Newtown+%28Connecticut%29), including potential weaknesses in various front-door security apparatus.
RECOMMENDED: Everyday heroes: 11 tales of American heroes (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/0416/Everyday-heroes-11-tales-of-American-heroes/Charles-Ramsey-rescued-three-women-and-a-girl)
</header>
<iframe src="http://embed.newsinc.com/Single/iframe.html?WID=1&VID=25052964&freewheel=69016&sitesection=nypost_us_non_fro&width=600&height=336" height="336" width="600" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"></iframe>
http://news.yahoo.com/georgia-school-shooting-averted-brave-bookkeeper-prayer-171021833.html
A 20-year-old gunman who was talked into surrendering his assault rifle by a cool-as-a-cucumber bookkeeper after he allegedly stormed a school in Dekalb County, Ga., on Tuesday told police afterwards, “I’m sorry, I’m off my meds.”
A strong point, however, was the school’s bookkeeper, Antoinette Tuff, who emerged as a hero after apparently talking Mr. Hill into surrendering his weapons, in part by telling him about her own hard times, including a divorce that ended a 33-year marriage and the difficulties of starting a business.
“I just started praying for him," she told Atlanta's Channel 2 Action News (http://www.ajc.com/news/news/she-faced-down-suspect/nZT3X/). "I just started talking to him ... and let him know what was going on with me and that it would be OK. And then let him know that he could just give himself up."
After Hill allegedly exchanged brief gunfire with officers outside the front office, Ms. Tuff says she persuaded Hill to empty his pockets and pile his weapons on the front desk.
Eyewitness Account of the Georgia ShootingPlay video."
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/NeknqGJaFb3keB5cOV2wAQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE2OTtxPTg1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/video/video.abcnewsplus.com/0594f53257b392e193d75c052fb7d2e4
(http://news.yahoo.com/video/eyewitness-account-georgia-shooting-225751895.html)
"I told him, 'OK, we all have situations in our lives,’ " she said. "It was going to be OK. If I could recover, he could, too."
"He had me actually get on the intercom and tell everybody he was sorry too," she added.
"I give it all to God, I'm not the hero," she said. "I was terrified."
“I think that just happened to be the circumstance involved, she had the opportunity,” says Mr. Lang, who adds that school staff are usually not trained as negotiators. “That [skill and bravery] is something you either have or don’t have.”
Coming as America (http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/United+States)’s schoolchildren begin filtering back to school for a new year, the shots fired at the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy by a possibly unstable young man with a deadly arsenal may have only reinforced perceptions that people experiencing mental illness pose a serious risk to children's safety.
The incident also gave schools a chance to examine security plans put into place after the shootings last December in Newtown, Conn. (http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Newtown+%28Connecticut%29), including potential weaknesses in various front-door security apparatus.
RECOMMENDED: Everyday heroes: 11 tales of American heroes (http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/0416/Everyday-heroes-11-tales-of-American-heroes/Charles-Ramsey-rescued-three-women-and-a-girl)
</header>
<iframe src="http://embed.newsinc.com/Single/iframe.html?WID=1&VID=25052964&freewheel=69016&sitesection=nypost_us_non_fro&width=600&height=336" height="336" width="600" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"></iframe>
http://news.yahoo.com/georgia-school-shooting-averted-brave-bookkeeper-prayer-171021833.html