A teacher at Forest High School in Ocala, Florida on Friday managed to talk down a former student after he allegedly shot a 17-year-old in the school. The former student reportedly said he was mentally ill and wanted to be arrested.
According to Ocala Today, Kelly McManis-Panasuk was in her homeroom class with her students 8:39 am when a gunshot went off in the hallway.
McManis-Panasuk went to investigate what had happened and saw a young female sobbing and screaming as the girl sprinted down the hallway.
After letting the female student inside her classroom she saw 19-year-old Sky Bouche, who she recognized as a former student.
″His hands were up and he said he wanted to be arrested … ‘I am mentally ill,’” McManis-Panasuk recalled of her talk with the alleged shooter.
She then asked him, “Did you shoot a gun?”
Bouche confirmed to her that he did and explained that he shot through a classroom door and wounded a 17-year-old boy in the ankle.
“I didn’t think it (the gun) would work,” Bouche told the teacher.
McManis-Panasuk said Bouche claimed to have been abused by his family and that his life was over. The 10-year veteran teacher said her former student really wanted to be arrested and had no intention to shoot the gun, Ocala Today reported.
Forrest High School’s resource officer Jim Long and Principal Brent Carson ran to the classroom after McManis-Panasuk pressed the emergency call button under her desk. She had already convinced Bouche to put his gun on the floor, remove items from his pockets, and stay in the hallway. Bouche was later taken into custody.
One classroom of students, led by teacher Tom Dann, barricaded themselves in by stacking desks and chairs in front of the door.
The Daily Caller learned that Marion County’s SWAT team darted into the school during the incident and led out students from their classrooms.
Kerry Picket is a correspondent for NRATV and host on SiriusXM Patriot 125