New US school gun incident

A social studies teacher barricaded himself inside a classroom at a Georgia high school on Wednesday and fired a handgun, sending students running outside or hunkering down in darkened gym locker rooms, authorities said.

No Dalton High School students were in the classroom when the teacher fired the weapon, and despite the chaotic lockdown and evacuation, the only injury was a student who hurt her ankle running away.

It wasn't immediately clear why the teacher, 53-year-old Jesse Randal Davidson, had the gun. Under questioning by detectives, he refused to discuss what led to the shooting.

The gunfire erupted with a nation on edge two weeks after a Florida school shooting left 17 students and faculty dead and ignited a new debate over gun control in America.

Within minutes of the Dalton shooting, students there took to social media, calling for restricting gun rights. In the afternoon, US President Donald Trump, who has advocated for arming teachers, convened a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House to address gun violence.



'Go away, don't come in here'

The teacher was taken into custody without incident after a 30- to 45-minute standoff with officers, police spokesperson Bruce Frazier said. A teacher since 2004, Davidson also serves as the play-by-play announcer for the high school's football team.

Police noted that Davidson didn't appear to want to hurt the students or faculty. He fired the gun at an exterior window when the principal tried to enter the classroom.

“I don't know whether he was just firing the gun off to let people know to back off or what,” Frazier said.

The shooting happened about 11:30 during Davidson's planning period. At first, students tried to get into the classroom, but they couldn't. The students told the principal, who tried to enter.

“I didn't get the door open very far, but he slammed the door and hollered 'Go away, don't come in here.' He had some nonsensical noises that were made as well,” Principal Steve Bartoo said. Bartoo returned a short time later and put his key in the door “and again he slammed the door before I could open it and he said, 'Don't come in here, I have a gun.'”

That's when Davidson fired and the school was placed on lockdown, authorities said.

Davidson faces six charges, including aggravated assault involving a gun and terroristic threats and acts, jail records showed. Other charges include carrying a weapon in a school safety zone and reckless conduct. It's not clear if he has an attorney. The Georgia incident took place and Florida students and returned under heavy police guard to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High for the first time since a teenager with an assault rifle killed 17 people and thrust the huge Florida school into the centre of a renewed national gun debate.

The half-day began with fourth period so that the nearly 3 300 students could first be with the people they were with during the shooting two weeks ago.

“In the beginning, everyone was super serious, but then everyone cheered up and it started being the same vibes we had before the shooting. People started laughing and joking around,” said Kyle Kashuv, a junior who said he hugged every single teacher.

On the way in, teens were guarded by hundreds of police officers. The police were accompanied by comfort animals, including dogs, horses and a donkey. One of the horses had “eagle pride” painted on its side. A nearby woman held a sign offering “free kisses”.

After school dismissed, members of the Guardian Angels wearing their trademark red berets lined the streets at a crosswalk.

Kashuv said he was amazed by the outpouring of support from the community, including the police presence, the animals and many well-wishers.

There were letters from all over the world and “banners on every single wall”, he said.

Some of the officers carried military-style rifles, and Superintendent Robert Runcie said the police presence would continue for the remainder of the school year. The heavy arms rattled some students.

“This is a picture of education in fear in this country.”

The National Rifle Association “wants more people just like this, with that exact firearm, to scare more people and sell more guns”, said David Hogg, who has become a leading voice in the student movement to restrict assault weapons.

About 150 grief counsellors were on campus “to provide a lot of love, a lot of understanding” and to help students “ease back” into their school routines, Runcie said.

The freshman building where the February 14 massacre took place remained cordoned off.

Students were told leave their backpacks at home. Principal Ty Thomas tweeted that the school's focus would be on “emotional readiness and comfort, not curriculum”.

In each classroom, coloured pencils, colouring books, stress balls and toys were available to help students cope. “It's not how you go down. It's how you get back up,” said Casey Sherman, a 17-year-old junior. She said she was not afraid to be return, “just nervous”.

As classes resumed, Dick's Sporting Goods, a major US retailer, announced that it would immediately halt sales of assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines at all of its stores and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21.

The company's CEO took on the NRA by demanding tougher gun laws.

Later on Wednesday, Walmart announced that it would no longer sell firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21 and would also remove items resembling assault-style rifles from its website.

NAMPA/AP