Bay County School Board Hostage situation

Beach Fanatic

Dec 14, '10 · 3:15 PM2,627

Man takes hostages, shoots at Bay County School Board meeting

Starting a little after 2 p.m., the man addressed the school board briefly, before using a can of red spray paint to paint a large "V" with a circle around it on the wall of the building. The man pulled out a gun, and released the women and children from the room, taking the others hostage. Tensions built while the man questioned the school board. Shots were fired, and SWAT teams responded and burst in.

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/city-35730-panama-school.html

One man has been taken out of the School Board offices on a stretcher and appears to be dead, according to a reporter on the scene. The reporter was told the only injured person was the gunman.

No citizens were injured, according to the latest reports.

Edited Dec 14, '10 · 3:17 PM

Replies

Banned

Dec 16, '10 · 12:55 PM#52

I don't know what I would have done but if I was going to go at him like Ginger did I would have tried to get my two hands on the gun and get it pointed away from anyone and then screamed to the others to hit whack him, jump on him, bite him, etc.

The smack his hand with a purse was an all or nothing move.

One thing to think about is that all the bravery in the world might be an act of futility if the assailant is simply over powering. That seemed to be the case here. I think if the room had been full of ten Gingers, there would have been a lot more blood on the floor. On the other hand, if you know the assailant is going to kill everyone anyway, attack mode is the only way to go. I think every such situation is different and that the men in the room read this guy's intentions very accurately.

Beach Fanatic

Dec 16, '10 · 6:33 PM#53

imo, the guy didn't have plans to kill anyone except himself. This guy knew how to use a handgun based on his history and should have been lethal at that range. If he was serious, he would have shot Ginger when he turned around, realizing that he was being assaulted but not knowing by whom.

I suspect that his plan was to scare the poo/pee out of them and then become a "martyr" by law enforcement.....

Regardless, he was the only physical casualty....unfortunately, there are several others that will have significant emotional trauma.....my thoughts are with them.

SoWal Expert

Dec 16, '10 · 6:46 PM#54

I think the guy's aim might have just been as good as his thinking. Stress, adrenaline, and a handgun don't make for a good shot.

Not sure if him not hurting Ginger (she was lucky) was because she was a little woman swatting him with a purse, because she wasn't his focused target, or because he truly didn't want to hurt anyone.

Just glad the only one killed or seriously injured was him.

Beach Fanatic

Dec 17, '10 · 7:33 AM#55

I thought Ginger was dumb and always will.

Not because she put herself in danger but because she could have made things worse.

To paraphrase, Paul Newman...sometimes doing nothing is pretty cool hand.

Of course, when you have a nutcase with a loaded gun, how much worse can it get?

Sometimes being lucky is better than being smart.

Beach Fanatic

Dec 17, '10 · 12:11 PM#56

Channel 7 just said the famous purse is now up for auction on EBay, with proceeds to benefit Mike Jones' Salvage Santa program. The price is already up over $500, with the auction to close Monday at 6 p.m.