As the debate for gun control rages and students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas return to class for the first time since the deadly mass shooting that killed 17 and injured 14 on Valentine’s Day, shots rang out at Dalton High School in Georgia. This time the shooter was a teacher who barricaded himself in his classroom and fired a shot from a handgun out of a window.
The shooter was a 53-year-old social studies teacher named Jesse Randall Davidson. He has been with the school since 2004 and is most known for his role as the football game announcer. Luckily, no one was injured except for a student who sustained an ankle injury during the evacuation. The entire school and the surrounding area was evacuated.
Courtesy: Times Free Press
Davidson allegedly locked himself inside his classroom and turned any student away who tried to enter. When the principal, Steve Bartoo, was notified of Davidson’s behavior he responded to the scene and attempted to unlock the door. Davidson responded by slamming the door in his face and firing a shot out of the window of the classroom. Once the shot was heard, the school was placed on lockdown and students were evacuated to the Dalton trade center to reunite with their worried parents. The school officials were commended by Dalton Police Department’s Assistant Chief Cliff Cason who called their execution of the lockdown “flawless”.
This incident came days after President Trump, The National Rifle Association and many other politicians have come under fire for proposing that teachers bear arms in the classroom in an attempt to prevent any further school shootings. The social studies teacher was apprehended and several charges have been brought against him. These charges include aggravated assault, carrying a weapon on school grounds, terroristic threats, reckless conduct, possession of a gun during the commission of a crime, and disrupting public school.
Outraged and upset, Dalton High School students are already speaking out online and calling for action to be taken. Amidst the claims that Parkland survivors are crisis actors’ and that the entire tragedy was staged by gun control advocates, Dalton students are emphasizing that they are not a part of a conspiracy. Tweets from students express their trauma and many ask for an end to gun violence by enacting gun control measures. Parkland survivors have been quick to reach out online to Dalton students with support in this difficult time.