MATTOON – Thanks to the quick reaction of Mattoon High School teacher Angela Queen, a shooter was prevented from harming more than one Wednesday, the News-Gazette reports:
A female teacher acting quickly may have prevented further tragedy Wednesday at Mattoon High School after a male student shot another student in the cafeteria during lunch.
“Lives were saved by the quick response of a teacher here,” Mattoon police Chief Jeff Branson said at press conference Wednesday evening. “She had been trained obviously, but in these scenarios, you just don’t know what happens until it happens.”
The teacher apparently subdued the student gunman, who was then disarmed by the school resource officer.
“If that teacher had not responded as quickly as she had,” Branson said, “I think the situation would have been a lot different.”
A circuit judge ordered a mental health evaluation of the juvenile gunman at a hearing on Thursday, according to the Herald & Review. Sources report bullying may have been a factor in the shooting.
CBS News revealed the teacher's identity Thursday afternoon.
