Student: 'Hero' Teacher Tackled School Gunman, Swatted Weapon Away
An Indiana middle school science teacher is being hailed as a hero after tackling and swatting the gun away from a student shooter who entered his class.
The shooting took place at Noblesville West Middle School, to the north of Indianapolis, at around 9 a.m. Friday morning.
A seventh-grade student who was in the classroom and wished not to be identified told WXIN that a classmate of his showed up late wielding a handgun and opened fire.
“He took about four to five maybe six shots, one of them hitting a girl that was about ten feet from me. Mr. (Jason) Seaman started running at him, he’s a teacher, a science teacher — he tackled him to the ground, we were all hiding in the back of a classroom behind some desks,” the student recounted.
“Then (Seaman) was yelling to call 911 to get out of the building as fast as we could, so we ran down the stairs and just ran down here, we ran down the sidewalk into Prairie Crossing,” the student added.
The unnamed student said the science teacher is also the head football coach and well-liked by the student body. Seaman reportedly played football for Southern Illinois University as a defensive end.
“He’s a hero,” the student stated. “If he didn’t do anything he probably would have continued shooting and a lot more of us would have been injured and possibly killed, so it was just something that not most people would have done but he was really brave to do it.”
“I’d say it something I’d see from him, he would do this type of thing, he’s a really good guy,” he said.
Another seventh-grader, also unnamed, told WXIN that Seaman swatted the gun away from the shooter, saving many lives in the process.
“This science teacher bravely swatted that gun away from the gunman’s hands, saving everyone else in that room,” WXIN’s Dan Spehler reported, citing the unnamed female student.
Noblesville Police Chief Kevin Jowitt told reporters at a media briefing that a male student has been taken into custody in relation to the shooting, according to WLS-TV.
Additionally, one adult and one teenage victim have been taken to area hospitals for treatment.
Seaman’s mother Kristi posted on Facebook, “Please pray for my son Jason. This morning there was a shooting at his school Noblesville West Jr High. He was hit 3 times & is undergoing surgery now. We are told he is in good condition but haven’t gotten to see him yet. I thank God that no one was killed.”
Jason Seaman’s mother reports he was shot 3 times, including one bullet through abdomen. Is out of surgery and in good condition. After he was shot, Seaman still managed to help stop the shooter. #Hero pic.twitter.com/e2XQbgn6qY
— Saluki Football (@SIU_Football) May 25, 2018
Eighth-grader Chris Navarro told WLS-TV he was inside an auditorium when he counted 16 gunshots in about a minute, just before the bell rang signaling the end of the school period.
“The speaker came on and said we were on lockdown and people rushed in and we went to the back of the room. I went into this little room in the back with three other people,” he said.
#NoblesvilleWest science teacher who tackled school shooter identified as Jason Seaman. He is now at IU Health-Methodist Hospital. https://t.co/NEdNcPnn5q pic.twitter.com/QeWajPfdqU
— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) May 25, 2018
The incident comes in the wake of two other school shootings last week in Texas and Illinois.
The shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, last Friday left 10 dead and 10 more wounded.
In Illinois, a police officer assigned to Dixon High School brought down a 19-year-old former student gunman before he could do any harm.
The officer’s quick response is credited with saving lives. There were no injuries, except to the shooter himself.
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