President Obama praised Antoinette Tuff on Friday and suggested the hero Georgia bookkeeper make a visit to the White House.
“When I heard the 911 call and read the sequence of events, I thought, here’s someone who is not just couragous, not just cool under pressure, but also had enough heart that she could convince someone who was really troubled that she cared about him,” the president said of Ms. Tuff, who talked a potential school shooter into surrendering Tuesday afternoon at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy.
Twenty-year-old suspect Michael Brandon Hill — who admittedly was off his medication for a mental illness — entered the school with the apparent intention of harming students and faculty, but Ms. Tuff convinced him to give himself up by sharing her own stories and seeming to identify with his hardships.
“Not only did she make Michelle and me very proud, but she probably saved a lot of lives,” Mr. Obama said. “We might have to have her make a visit to the White House.”
Mr. Obama called Ms. Tuff on Thursday to personally thank her.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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