U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- A school resource officer shot a teen gunman and prevented a possible mass shooting at Dixon High School in Dixon, Illinois.
Matt Milby, 19-year-old, entered the Dixon High School gym where the seniors were practicing for graduation on Wednesday morning around 8 AM. The recently expelled student opened fire on school resource officer Mark Dallas. Dallas returned fire causing Milby to retreat from the gym.
After a brief chase, Milby turned around and once again fired on the school resource officer. Officer Dallas returned fire striking Milby in the shoulder ending the pursuit. Officer Dallas took Milby into custody.
It has not been released what type of gun was used in the attack, or how the gun was acquired.
Milby’s wounds are considered non-life threatening, and he is currently in police custody. Milby did not injure the resource officer in the attack. The attacker did not harm any other faculty or students. According to Sheriff John Simonton, Milby was acting alone, and the threat has passed.
Thanks to the quick actions of Officer Dallas, Milby was prevented from hurting other people. Dallas most likely prevented a mass school shooting. The NRA’s plan of putting armed police officers in schools seems to have worked in preventing a tragedy.
“The officer was not injured, nor was anyone else,” said City Administrator Danny Langloss. “The shooting happened in the gym, where seniors, whose last day of school was Friday, were gathered for graduation practice. We’re lucky the officer was there. His brave actions saved a lot of lives.”
Langloss’ daughter was in the gym at the time of the shooting. The school went into lockdown until the police determined that the threat had passed.
“With shots ringing out in the hallways of the school, he charged towards the suspect and confronted him head-on,” said Dixon Police Chief Steve Howell. “Because of his heroic actions, countless lives were saved. We are forever indebted to him for his courage and his bravery.”
Howell also credited recent mass shooting drills that took place at the school. He thinks it helped prepare the officer’s response.
Mayor Liandro Arellano Jr also heaped praise on the quick actions of the school resource officer.
“A lot of things went right today when a great many of them could have gone wrong,” said Arellano. “Things could have gone much worse. We are deeply indebted to our officer and the actions he took today.”
Police have not released a motive for the shooting, and their investigation is continuing into the attack.
After the Parkland, Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School there have been calls to harden schools. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School did have a school resource officer, but instead of engaging the gunman Sheriff Deputy Scot Peterson hid, and 17 people died.
Scot Peterson was allowed to retire and is currently receiving a pension of $8,702 a month from Broward County, Florida. Andrew Pollack, the father of shooting victim, Meadow Pollack, thinks that Peterson’s inaction cost people’s lives. He is suing Peterson.
The actions of Officer Dallas shows that a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on the history of the patriot movement and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss or at www.crumpy.com.