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Volunteer firefighter Jamie Brock who tackled the shooter at a South Carolina …
Firefighter subdued gunman, calls teachers 'true heroes'
TOWNVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTINGS.C. elementary school remains closed after shooting | 1:33
Townville
Elementary will be closed for the rest of the week after a gunman
opened fire at the school, wounding two students and a teacher. The
shooting suspect is 14 years old.
WLTX
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TOWNVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTINGPolice: School shooter killed dad before rampage | 1:24
A
teenager killed his father at their home Wednesday before going to a
nearby elementary school and opening fire with a handgun, wounding two
students and a teacher, authorities said. (Sept. 28)
AP
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- S.C. firefighter Brock: Teachers are the heroes
- VIDEO: Community reacts to Townville shooting
- S.C. elementary school remains closed after shooting
- Police: School shooter killed dad before rampage
Brock and other first responders were heroes in the way they helped the injured and secured the scene Wednesday at Townville Elementary School so no one else was hurt, fire Chief Billy McAdams said.
“As Brock made his way to the rear corner of the building, he observed the shooter a short distance away in the grass,” the chief said in a firehouse news conference Thursday. “Feeling it was imperative to the safety of students, teachers and responders already inside, he immediately confronted and subdued the shooter.”
Brock was apparently unarmed and information wasn't immediately available on whether the teenage gunman, whose name has not been released because he is being charged as a minor pending a Friday court hearing, was readying to shoot again. The students and teacher were hit as they opened a door to go out to the playground for recess.
Jacob Hall, 6, was in critical condition Thursday. Teacher Meghan Hollingsworth, shot in the shoulder, and the second kindergartner, shot in the foot, were treated at a hospital Wednesday and released.
Brock didn’t appear at the news conference but gave McAdams a statement to read on his behalf that echoed the chief’s assessment.
“The true heroes of yesterday’s senseless tragedy are the teachers that put their lives on the line to protect their students, the principal who through fears of her own (did) what was right to ensure the safety of the school," Brock's statement said. “My reaction to yesterday’s events was no different than any other fire or law enforcement personnel who put their lives on the line to protect their communities every day."
McAdams said he and Brock were working on his farm around 1:45 p.m. ET when they got the call about a shooter. School officials told him over the phone that the shooter was in the rear of the building and children had been hit near the playground.
The men rushed to the school and found a black pickup, empty, that had crashed through the playground fence. Then they decided to split up, McAdams going inside the school and Brock casing the outside, the fire chief said.
What they didn't know at the time: Jeffrey Osborne, 47, the father of the teen shooter, was dead in his Townville home.
Once inside the school, McAdams was led to a room where the school nurse had begun treating the two students and the teacher, he said. He realized that Jacob was the most severely injured and provided cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and other medical care to him as other responders began to arrive.
Meanwhile, Brock was corralling the gunman outside, keeping him on the ground until authorities arrived to take him into custody, McAdams said.
Both Brock, in his statement, and McAdams called for prayer for Jacob, who remains in intensive care in Greenville Memorial Hospital fighting for his life.
“God’s plan is bigger," Brock’s statement said about the shooting. "This will not take us down. Brighter days are ahead as we begin to heal.”
Heroism was all around the school Wednesday afternoon, McAdams said.
“The teachers and staff at Townville Elementary who protected the children in the moments following the gunshots are heroes as well,” he said. “We also believe the entire Townville community are heroes for the support they have shown to everyone involved during the toughest time imaginable.”
Follow Ron Barnett on Twitter: @RonBarnett999
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