STILL ANOTHER!
Teacher takes down kid shooter who hit 2
A student armed with two handguns opened fire inside a classroom at an Indiana middle school Friday morning, wounding a 13-year-old girl and a teacher, authorities said.
The attack occurred just after 9 a.m. at the Noblesville West Middle School.
Seventh-grader Ethan Stonebraker said that his science teacher — later identified as 29-year-old former college football player Jason Seaman — took down the shooter and credited him with preventing more bloodshed.
“Our science teacher immediately ran at him, swatted a gun out of his hand and tackled him to the ground,” Stonebraker said. “If it weren’t for him, more of us would have been injured for sure.”
The shooting unfolded after the suspect — whose identity was not released — asked to be excused from class and then returned armed with two handguns, cops said.
Police believe the shooter, who was taken into custody, acted alone.
“The situation resolved extremely quickly,” said Noblesville Police Chief Kevin Jowitt.
The wounded girl was rushed to Riley Hospital for Children.
Seaman — who was shot in the abdomen, hip and forearm — still managed to get the gun and tackle the shooter. The teacher underwent surgery at IU Health Methodist Hospital.
Seaman played defensive end for Southern Illinois University between 2007 and 2010.
Twice he made the Missouri Valley Conference’s honorable mention all-academic team and is still in school record books for most tackles for loss in a single game.
In a statement, Seaman thanked first responders and said: “I want to let everyone know that I was injured but am doing great. To all students, you are all wonderful and I thank you for your support. You are the reason I teach.”
His former coach, current SIU athletic director Jerry Kill, said Seaman has always been selfless.
“Someone asked me if I was surprised by what he did, and I said ‘absolutely not,’ he was our type of kid,” Kill said. “That’s what he stood for. He’s a great young man and I’m praying for him to be OK. I saw a statistic that more kids are being killed in schools than are dying in the military. This stuff has got to stop.”
Eighth-grade student Chris Navarro said he was inside an auditorium when he heard gunfire about a minute before the bell rang.
“The speaker came on and said we were on lockdown, and people rushed in, and we went to the back of the room. I went into this little room in the back with three other people,” Navarro said.
Worried mom Erica Higgins was among those who rushed to the school, telling WTHR-TV: “I just want to get my arms around my boy. I got a ‘Mom, I’m scared’ text message and other than that, it was ‘come get me at the high school.’ ”
Vice President Mike Pence, who is from Indiana, tweeted: “Karen and I are praying for the victims of the terrible shooting in Indiana. To everyone in the Noblesville community – you are on our hearts and in our prayers. Thanks for the swift response by Hoosier law enforcement and first responders.”
nmusumeci@nypost.com Addtional reporting by David K. Li and Wire Services