Until we have real gun reform in the United States, we are going to continue to have stories like this. At least these are the good parts of the awful tragedies that happen all too frequently.
For some reason I feel like a middle school science teacher should never have to deal with these things, but now that he has he better get a dang raise. Jason Seaman was teaching his science class in Noblesville, Indiana when all of sudden one of his students returned from the bathroom with two guns. He then opened fire getting up to six shots off.
Somehow, only two people were injured and one of them was Seaman. He took three bullets to save his students.
He recently got out of the hospital and is recovering from his injuries. He said at a press conference:
“I want to make it clear that my actions on that day, in my mind, were the only acceptable actions I could have done given the circumstances. I deeply care for my students and their well-being. That is why I did what I did that day.”
A seventh grade student, Ethan Stonebraker, told the AP of Seaman’s actions:
“Our science teacher immediately ran at him, swatted a gun out of his hand and tackled him to the ground.
If it weren’t for him, more of us would have been injured for sure.”
There are two victims en route to Methodist from the Noblesville West Middle School Active Shooter
Those families have been notified
Suspect in custody
All students are being taken to the Noblesville High School, parents are asked to pick up there#NoblesvilleWest
— Sgt. John Perrine (@ISPIndianapolis) May 25, 2018
Sgt. John Perrine also tweeted out his reaction to the shooting after seeing the aftermath of it all:
Today was one of the most difficult days of my career. I’ve never experienced some of the emotions I felt this morning
I will never forget seeing the fear & helplessness on the faces of terrified parents as they frantically arrived at the school
🙏 #NoblesvilleSchoolShooting 🙏
— Sgt. John Perrine (@ISPIndianapolis) May 26, 2018
The other student that was injured, Ella Whistler, is recovering in the hospital still. The school principal, Stacey Swan said she her status is steadily improving. Seaman said this of Whistler:
“I can’t say enough how proud of Ella I am and how we all should be. Her courage and strength at such a young age is nothing short of remarkable, and we should all continue to keep her in our minds as she continues to recover.”
Since the shooting a GoFundMe has been set up for Seaman. These are the times when GoFundMe can be amazing. It was set up by Jackson Ramey, a Noblesville High School senior. The original goal was just a mere $4,000. But as of right now it’s sitting at $96,000 and growing.
Ramey’s update as of four days ago when he first started stated:
“This is truly a humbling experience. I am astonished by the support this fundraiser is gaining. The original goal was $4000 and that was passed just slightly past the first hour. We are now over $7000 slightly passed three hours. This is a story everyone in our community can and should rally behind. This man is a true hero. Thank you to everyone, this means a lot.”
Seaman was of course grateful for the campaign but of course stayed humble saying, “I can’t really fathom how someone I have not personally met would do such an act of kindness and how the Noblesville community has been so generous in their response to it.”
If you are as outraged about gun violence as you should be, you can do something about it right now! You can text “RESIST” to 50409 or text their Facebook messenger bot here and they will determine who your congressional representatives are. Then you just reply with what you want to say to them and they will handle the rest. Why wouldn’t you want to?!