Obama Called Antoinette Tuff, Woman Who Talked Down Armed Suspect At Elementary School/Operation Confidence
President Barack Obama called to thank Antoinette Tuff, the woman who talked down an armed man at an elementary school on Tuesday.
Tuff got the call from Obama on Thursday, according to White House pool reports. Obama called "to thank her for the courage she displayed while talking to a gunman who entered the school where she works earlier this week," the pool report said.
After an armed gunman entered the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, Georgia, Tuff, the school's bookkeeper, talked him into putting down his weapon and turning himself into the police, according to the AP. More than 800 students were in the school at the time and no one was injured in the incident.
The suspect was later identified as 20-year-old Michael Brandon Hill. Hill allegedly walked into the elementary school's office with an AK 47-style rifle and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition, according to police.
Tuff can be heard on a recording of a 911 call released Wednesday speaking kindly to Hill and telling him of her own struggles.
"We're not gonna hate you, baby. It's a good thing that you're giving up," Tuff says on the call.
UPDATE -- 8:46 p.m.: Tuff talked about what it was like to receive a call from the president on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." She called the experience "awesome" and said "that made the night."
"I was like, 'President Obama, it's really you!'" Tuff said. "It was the best voice that I could ever hear."
After an armed gunman entered the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, Georgia, Tuff, the school's bookkeeper, talked him into putting down his weapon and turning himself into the police, according to the AP. More than 800 students were in the school at the time and no one was injured in the incident.
The suspect was later identified as 20-year-old Michael Brandon Hill. Hill allegedly walked into the elementary school's office with an AK 47-style rifle and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition, according to police.
Tuff can be heard on a recording of a 911 call released Wednesday speaking kindly to Hill and telling him of her own struggles.
"We're not gonna hate you, baby. It's a good thing that you're giving up," Tuff says on the call.
UPDATE -- 8:46 p.m.: Tuff talked about what it was like to receive a call from the president on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." She called the experience "awesome" and said "that made the night."
"I was like, 'President Obama, it's really you!'" Tuff said. "It was the best voice that I could ever hear."
Will Antoinette Tuff Get Presidential Medal Of Freedom? Bookkeeper Hailed A Hero By Facebook And Twitter
Antoinette Tuff, the brave woman who essentially stopped the Atlanta, Ga., shooter from gunning down the entire school, is being touted as a hero with Twitter and Facebook users requesting to bookkeeper be awarded the Medal of Freedom, CNN wrote.
The award is the nation’s highest civilian honor, and it would be hard to find someone who doesn't think Tuff should be given the medal since she helped stop suspect Brandon Michael Hill from killing innocent children and school personnel by sharing stories about her own heartbreak.
Hill was apparently off his medicine for a mental disorder and Tuff was able to persuade him into putting the gun down by telling him stories about her disabled son and recent divorce from her husband of 26 years.
If it wasn’t for her there could have been a mass tragedy at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, Principal Brian Bolden said, according to the news site. "Her name, Antoinette Tuff, says everything about her," the principal said. "Tough. She has always been that way from the first time I met her."
Tuff, 46, has been working in the DeKalb County School District for eight years. She stayed calm throughout the call, as noted in the 911 records."It's going to be all right, sweetie," she told Hill, 20, at one point during the call. "I just want you to know I love you, though, OK? And I'm proud of you. That's a good thing that you're just giving up and don't worry about it. We all go through something in life. No, you don't want that. You going to be OK.
"I thought the same thing, you know, I tried to commit suicide last year after my husband left me. But look at me now. I'm still working and everything is OK."
The fact that Tuff’s kind words were able to get Hill to surrender were nothing less than miraculous, DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander told CNN. "You just don't see that type of interaction in these types of situations very, very often at all."
"There are some things in life you can rehearse for," Alexander said. "But this is a woman who just kept her calm, kept her wits about herself, maintained her composure in this very dangerous situation."
None of the school’s 870 children were harmed. She has three different fan pages on Facebook and Twitter came out to support Tuff. The mini-blog users want to see her awarded the Medal of Freedom.
Operation Confidence is so proud of Ms. Antoinette Tuff and congratulate her for saving so many innocent children s lives.
Hill was apparently off his medicine for a mental disorder and Tuff was able to persuade him into putting the gun down by telling him stories about her disabled son and recent divorce from her husband of 26 years.
If it wasn’t for her there could have been a mass tragedy at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, Principal Brian Bolden said, according to the news site. "Her name, Antoinette Tuff, says everything about her," the principal said. "Tough. She has always been that way from the first time I met her."
Tuff, 46, has been working in the DeKalb County School District for eight years. She stayed calm throughout the call, as noted in the 911 records."It's going to be all right, sweetie," she told Hill, 20, at one point during the call. "I just want you to know I love you, though, OK? And I'm proud of you. That's a good thing that you're just giving up and don't worry about it. We all go through something in life. No, you don't want that. You going to be OK.
"I thought the same thing, you know, I tried to commit suicide last year after my husband left me. But look at me now. I'm still working and everything is OK."
The fact that Tuff’s kind words were able to get Hill to surrender were nothing less than miraculous, DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander told CNN. "You just don't see that type of interaction in these types of situations very, very often at all."
"There are some things in life you can rehearse for," Alexander said. "But this is a woman who just kept her calm, kept her wits about herself, maintained her composure in this very dangerous situation."
None of the school’s 870 children were harmed. She has three different fan pages on Facebook and Twitter came out to support Tuff. The mini-blog users want to see her awarded the Medal of Freedom.
Operation Confidence is so proud of Ms. Antoinette Tuff and congratulate her for saving so many innocent children s lives.
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