A gunman barged into a Washington state high school Monday but a heroic teacher took him down before anyone was hurt, students said.
Students at North Thurston High School in Lacey, Wash., said that a classmate armed with a gun and smoking a cigarette entered the school's common area around 7:30 a.m., just before the morning bell.
Brady Olson, the school's AP government and civics teacher, tackled the shooter just after he fired into the air, students said.
"The first shot, Mr. Olson looked over, and on the second shot, he ran directly toward the shooter and jumped on him and tried to get the gun out of his hand, said freshman Isaiah Samson, who was about five feet away from the shooter.
tudents ran for cover in classrooms and sprinted off campus, Samson said.
"It was right as the bell rang," he told the Daily News. 'There were a lot of people in the commons getting to class."
After Olson wrangled the gunman, police took the shooter into custody. Officers did not identify the gunman, who is either 15 or 16 years old, and did not confirm that he was a student at the school.
The campus went into lockdown after the attempted attack, and students were reunited with their parents after cops cleared the campus.
Classes will be canceled for the rest of Monday.
"We're just really thankful that nobody was hurt,” North Thurston School District spokeswoman Courtney Schrieve told KOMO News. “Everybody's safe and that's the most important thing.”
The school district confirmed that the shooter was apprehended by a staff member, but did not name Olson as the hero.
Olson was not immediately available for comment.
