Police shot and killed a man suspected of attempting to intrude into an Alabama school Thursday.
Walnut Park School in Gadsden, Alabama, went into lockdown before 11 a.m., with a warning from the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office to avoid the area. No children were hurt, and all were bused to Gadsden City High School after the ordeal.
There were 34 children on-site for a summer literacy camp at the time, according to Gadsden City School Superintendent Tony Reddick.
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There were reports of a suspicious man, later revealed to be 32-year-old Robert Tyler White of Bunnlevel, North Carolina, at the school trying to get into vehicles and buildings near the school. Reddick claimed White “aggressively” tried to open several doorways. When the principal subsequently called the school resource officer, who arrived with Etowah County deputies in tote, tensions escalated. White then tried to take the resource officer’s gun and was fatally shot shortly after according to police. There were no details about who shot White, how many times he was shot, or whether or not he was armed.
One Rainbow City police officer came away with minor injuries following the struggle.
“We’re just so thankful that none of this involved the children,” Reddick said. “Everyone followed the safety protocols that we’ve drilled on.”
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey took to Twitter to congratulate those involved “for acting quickly to protect these children.”
When a situation ensued outside of Walnut Park School in Gadsden today, SROs immediately took action, faculty inside the building followed safety protocols and all children present were kept out of harm’s way. I commend all involved for acting quickly to protect these children.
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) June 9, 2022
The National Association of School Resource Officers shared an article link with the story on its Facebook page.
“Agenda-driven political pundits will tell you that school resource officers don’t prevent violence in schools. This is not true and it’s never been true,” its caption read. “As a non-partisan training organization, we’ve seen time and time again how having carefully selected and specifically trained officers on school campuses can help avert violence before it happens, or in this case, confront and neutralize a threat before children or staff are harmed.”
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The case is under investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation.
