An armed teacher who fired his weapon at a Georgia high school was in custody Wednesday afternoon.
No students at Dalton High School were hurt directly in the incident or remained in danger after they were evacuated as the crisis unfolded, Dalton police tweeted.
The teacher — identified as Randall Davidson, 53 — initially barricaded himself in an empty classroom at about 11:30 a.m. ET as confused students tried to get in, Dalton police spokesman Bruce Frazier said at a news conference. There were then reports that a gun was fired. Davidson, a social studies teacher, surrendered after 30 to 45 minutes, police said.
Frazier confirmed that at least one shot was fired after a principal used a key to try and get into the barricaded classroom. A bullet had gone through an exterior window of the room, but it didn’t appear Davidson was aiming at any person, Frazier added.
It was unclear what led the teacher to lock himself inside the classroom.
"It certainly didn’t seem like he had any intention to harm anyone," Frazier said.
Officials were trying to determine if Davidson’s handgun was in the classroom while he was teaching earlier in the day or if he brought it in afterwards.
A school resource officer is also assigned to Dalton High School, which is about 90 miles north of Atlanta and has about 2,000 students, according to its website. It was not immediately known where the officer was positioned at the time.
One female student who ran from the scene suffered an ankle injury, Dalton police tweeted.
One student apparently sustained an ankle injury running inside the school during the evacuation. Student is being treated by EMS at the school.
— Dalton Police (@DaltonPD) February 28, 2018
Charges against Davidson were pending. He is also known in the community for doing the play-by-plays for the Dalton High School football team.
The incident comes two weeks after the mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school that claimed 17 lives.
President Donald Trump proposed a solution to end classroom massacres by arming some of America’s teachers with concealed weapons — a suggestion that has gotten push back from educators and students across the country.
