Hero is an overused word, but this time, it fits.
Three middle-school teachers wrestled a gunman to the ground, took away his rifle and held him down while officials bound his ankles and hands, most likely sparing the lives of students.
It’s a storyline you might expect from a movie, but it happened Tuesday just miles from the site of one of the deadliest school shootings in our nation’s history.
We add our sincerest praise and heartfelt thanks to Deer Creek Middle School teachers David Benke and Norm Hanne, and assistant principal Becky Brown for their quick and resolute action. Further praise goes to the school and safety officials who have focused untold hours since the deadly days of the Columbine shooting to create strategies to stop school shooters and keep children safe.
It’s impossible to prepare exactly for the type of moment that unfolded at Deer Creek, but it’s imperative to try. It’s also important to heed the lessons learned at Columbine High School, one of which was the need for quick, decisive action, which Benke showed.
Jefferson County School District teachers and staff routinely practice drills meant to help them act responsibly to lock down schools and protect students. Students also have practiced drills teaching them to flee when danger approaches.
The training worked. During drills, Benke — the towering teacher (he’s 6-foot-5) with a doctorate in math and a big heart for his students — often asked himself if he would have the courage to act if danger crossed his path.
Just after the final school bell rang Tuesday, that moment came in the form of Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood, who was carrying a powerful hunting rifle. Benke saw that Eastwood, who had already fired the bolt-action weapon, was reloading. He rushed the shooter and grabbed him, essentially ending the assault.
Two eighth-grade students were wounded. Reagan Weber was treated and released. Matt Thieu’s condition improved from critical to serious by Wednesday afternoon.
Had Eastwood not been stopped, he had enough ammunition to cause unthinkable carnage.
Besides training for shooter scenarios, Jeffco schools follow a policy that included having four teachers and the principal and assistant principal out patrolling as students roamed the grounds. That policy worked.
Finally, police agencies reported that they benefited from changes to their operations in the nearly 11 years since Columbine. Officers responding from state police, Littleton police and Jeffco sheriff’s deputies were able to organize effectively because they were able to communicate with each other via police radio. That wasn’t the case in those early, chaotic hours at Columbine.
We’re certain there will be lessons from this incident as well, and hope districts incorporate them into their safety plans.
Meanwhile, we wish Thieu and Weber a quick and full recovery, and again salute Benke, Hanne and Brown. We ask a lot of our teachers, and their actions Tuesday were nothing short of heroic.
