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Terrifying Moments, No Injuries As Teacher Stops Washington School Shooting

An AP government teacher is getting credit for stopping a shooting at North Thurston High School in Lacey, Washington.

Police say the teacher tackled the shooter after he opened fire Monday morning just before classes began. No one was injured, but the shooting left students and parents in a state of shock.

Student Liam Sedgwick heard the first shot. He said it sounded, “like maybe a table slamming,”

Senior Jeremy Craig also heard the gunfire -- it was near the gym. He said, “It sounded like weights were dropping in the weight room.”

Craig continued walking into the commons and said he was suddenly he looking at the shooter dressed in black.

“And he fired one round into the ceiling and I just turned around and ran outside,” he said.

After that second shot, Liam Sedgwick said, “Everybody started to run up the stairs screaming gunshots.”

Hero teacher

Sedgwick and his girlfriend escaped the school and hid in a nearby neighborhood. Moments after that second shot, teacher Brady Olson stepped in.

“The teacher tackled the student,” said Jim Mack, a commander with the Lacey Police Department.

A reporter asked him how he would describe the actions of the teacher.

“It’s very heroic,” Mack responded. “He put his own self at risk to ensure that no one got hurt.”

In a statement, teacher Brady Olson says he “reacted in a way that any other teacher would react” at the sound of a gunshot and that he had help from a team.

The gunman is described as a 16-year old who recently transferred to the school. Police said he brought the six-shot revolver to school from home, and told them in an interview he had not intended to hurt anyone else. The school district said it had no indication the student might do something like this.

‘I thought I was going to die’

Whatever his motive, student Kiana Larsen said he definitely made a statement. She was in the commons when he came down the stairs and fired the second shot. She then tripped and fell trying to escape.

"I thought I was going to die because I couldn’t get up and all my friends were leaving,” Larsen said. “And I finally got up and I didn’t even look back. I just started running.”

Larsen spoke as she left campus with her mom after being interviewed by police. North Thurston High was closed for the rest of the day while investigators worked and bomb-sniffing dogs made sure the building was clear.

Anxious parents

In the aftermath of the shooting, parents rushed to the school to reunite with their children. A school staffer told anxious parents, “The main building is still in lockdown. Okay? It’s clear, everything’s fine.”

But the parents were told they might have to wait a while to be reunified. Rebecca McQueen huddled with other moms. Her son is a sophomore at the school.

“I’m just freaking out,” she said through tears.

Other parents were frustrated. Some could see their children through the chain link fence standing on the football field -- but the gates were locked.

Heidi Burton, the mother of a ninth grader, said “I have driven around a whole city block, but I can’t get my kid.”

As parents waited, they texted with their teenagers and the story of what happened inside the school began to emerge. Emily Statler said her daughter was in the school commons area.

“She heard the gunshots, she looked over, she saw him doing it and ran,” Statler said. “That’s all she can remember, really. She’s kind of in shock.”

As Statler spoke, a news helicopter circled overhead. Eventually the stadium gates opened and the reunification of stressed out parents and terrified students began. Parents signed out their children and left with them wrapped in hugs.

The school will reopen Tuesday and counselors will be on hand.

Senior Jeremy Craig though the first gunshot was the sound of weights dropping. He was just feet away with the gunman fired a second shot into the ceiling of the school commons area.
Austin Jenkins / Northwest News Network
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Northwest News Network
Senior Jeremy Craig though the first gunshot was the sound of weights dropping. He was just feet away with the gunman fired a second shot into the ceiling of the school commons area.
Social studies teacher Brady Olson tackled the alleged school shooter.
/ North Thurston Public Schools
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North Thurston Public Schools
Brady Olson, an AP government teacher at North Thurston High School, tackled the shooter after he opened fire Monday morning before classes began.
Parents line up outside the stadium at North Thurston High School to reunite with their students after a school shooting in which no one was hurt.
Austin Jenkins / Northwest News Network
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Northwest News Network
Parents line up outside the stadium at North Thurston High School to reunite with their students after a school shooting in which no one was hurt.
Kiana Larsen, left, pictured with her mom Angie was trampled as she tried to flee North Thurston High School when a student opened fire in the commons area.
Austin Jenkins / Northwest News Network
/
Northwest News Network
Kiana Larsen, left, pictured with her mom Angie was trampled as she tried to flee North Thurston High School when a student opened fire in the commons area.

Copyright 2015 Northwest News Network

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."