Parents in Atlanta, Ga. faced their worst nightmare when they were told that an armed gunman opened fire at an Elementary school in DeKalb County on Tuesday.
Authorities believe that a 19-year-old white male with multiple guns may have walked into the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy Tuesday afternoon behind an employee. DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander said the suspect opened fire on officers as they arrived and officers returned fire at about 1 p.m. Eventually, police were able to detain the gunman, reports Channel 2 Action News, which broke the story on Twitter.
"When we received the call and we engaged, he started to fire from inside the school at our officers. He had one or two of the staff members inside the main office. He was holding them captive," said Chief Alexander.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne confirmed that the suspect was peacefully apprehended by DeKalb County sheriff's deputies and U.S. Marshals inside the school "without incident, without resistance." No injuries were reported, according to USA Today.
"When I arrived at the scene I saw the male subject standing outside, shooting a couple of rounds off," one of deputies said.
Alexander said that officers feared the man, who possessed multiple guns and an AK-47, also had explosives in the car or the building.
"We could not bring the children around to the front of the school because we didn't know if explosives were in the vehicle," Alexander said. "Now, this deviates from our typical plan, but this was a very unusual situation, where we had to get the kids away from any possible explosives."
One of the women held captive in the school office called Channel 2 Action News to report that there was a shooter in the school. She told a Channel 2 assignment desk editor that the gunman asked her to call WSB-TV and police.
"All the time of doing this I never experienced anything like this," LeCroy said. "It didn't take long to know that this was serious."
The McNair elementary office worker told LeCroy that the gunman wanted Channel 2 Action News to "start filming as police die."
The gunman then told the woman that he wanted "police to back up." Shots could be heard over the call.
Eventually, the woman told LeCroy "they got him."
Parents were asked to go to the Walmart near Gresham Road and Interstate 20 to get their children.