Middle School Teacher Tackled Shooter, Was Shot

A seventh-grade science teacher is credited with tackling a young gunman who opened fire in his classroom Friday morning, reports WTHR. Teacher Jason Seaman was shot three times in Noblesville West Middle School in Indiana, his brother tells the Indianapolis Star. An unidentified student also was shot, and a male student is in custody. Police say the young gunman asked to be excused from class, then returned with two handguns and opened fire, reports the AP. At that point, witnesses say Seaman, who played football at Southern Illinois University, tackled the shooter.

“It’s not surprising, to be honest,” brother Jeremy Seaman tells the Star. "He’s not really ever been the person to run away. When the safety of the kids is at hand, it’s not surprising to me that he was going to do what he had to do.” Police have released few details about the shooting, including whether the gunman was targeting anyone deliberately. One student witness says the teacher "immediately ran at him, swatted a gun out of his hand and tackled him to the ground," adding that "if it weren't for him, more of us would have been injured for sure." Seaman's mother posted online that her son was "out of surgery and is doing well." (More school shooting stories.)