[She's A Hero] Georgia Clerk Antoinette Tuff Talks Gunman Out Of Shooting Hundreds of Kids
We are applauding Atlanta-native Antoinette Tuff for being a hero today!
Just eight months after the horrifying Sandy Hook Elementary School
shooting, a similar incident almost took place in Georgia, but was
prevented because of Antoinette’s willingness to empathize with the
gunman.
On Tuesday, she was sitting at the secretary’s desk in the front
office of Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy when 20-year-old
Michael Brandon Hill walked straight into the elementary school, dressed
in all black and carrying an AK-47. He immediately fired off a few
rounds in the office and told the staff that he was about to end the
lives of students and teachers in the building since he didn’t have
anything else to live for.
Somehow or another, Antoinette was able to change the gunman’s mind.
Although she was terrified, she talked to him for an hour about her own
struggles that she was going through and even told him that she loved
him. Eventually, she was able to convince him to empty his pockets and
lie down so that the police could arrest him. No one was injured or
hurt.
Shots were fired Tuesday at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning
Academy, an elementary school outside of Atlanta. Police took Michael
Brandon Hill, 20, into custody and said later that he was carrying an
AK-47 rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition, the Associated Press reported.
Fortunately, no one was injured. The outcome seems largely due to Antoinette Tuff, a school clerk, who told ABC affiliate WSB-TV that she met the gunman when he entered the building.
“He had a look on him that he was willing to kill,” Tuff said. “He
said he didn’t have any reason to live, and he knew he was going to die
today.” Tuff said she began telling him the story of her own life in
order to calm him down. She described how her separation from her
husband after 33 years of marriage left her feeling lonely and in pain,
but she encouraged the man not to succumb to despair.
She said she prayed for the gunman during the crisis, and credited God with helping her maintain her composure.
“I give it all to God. I’m not the hero. I was terrified,” she said.
At
one point, the man exchanged gunfire with police. Tuff said she
convinced the man to stand down so that he would not be killed.
“I
just explained to him that I loved him,” she said. “I didn’t know his
name, I didn’t know much about him, but I did love him.”
Eventually, Tuff persuaded the man to surrender to police.
“It
was scary because I knew that at the moment, he was ready to take my
life along with his, and that if I didn’t say the right thing then we
all would be dead,” she told ABC.
Hill has been charged with assault against an officer, making threats, and illegally possessing a firearm.
Talking to ABC News, Antoinette said, “I just explained to him that I loved him. I didn’t know his name, I didn’t know much about him, but I did love him.”
Watch Antoinette’s full interview below:
The gunman faces charges of assault against an officer, making threats, and illegally possessing a firearm.
Also the 911 call has surfaced online.
Although it’s 24 minutes, it really shows how brave this lady was. At
the 14 minute mark she talks to him about her husband and her son that’s
disable.
No comments:
Post a Comment