A GOOD story about guns and schools
An elementary school employee in Utah is being praised for his heroic action after stepping in to stop an alleged attempted kidnapping of an 11-year-old girl.
The Ogden City Police Department said the incident occurred on Tuesday, May 25. The suspect, identified by police as 41-year-old Ira Cox-Berry, is in custody for allegedly attempting to grab the young girl.
According to a police press release, Cox-Berry approached the student on the playground and began pulling her away "as if he intended to leave with her."
A spokesman for the Ogden School District, Jer Bates, told Newsweek that a group of kids were outside for an end-of-the-year activity when the suspect came up and physically made contact with the 11-year-old girl.
Police said a nearby teacher, whose name was not released, stepped in and confronted Cox-Berry. All of the children were taken back inside the building, but Cox-Berry refused to leave.
"At that point this individual began banging on the windows, the exterior windows of a classroom," Bates said.
Police said the teacher produced a firearm to hold Cox-Berry off while calling 911 and waiting for police to arrive.
According to police, the teacher was legally in possession of the gun at the time of the incident as he held a valid concealed firearm permit.
"This employee is protected under the Second Amendment. He followed all policy and procedure at the school, and in this particular case, did everything that he should have done to protect the innocent lives of the children at the school," Lt. Brian Enyon told ABC4. "And in this case, it is likely that a life was saved or injury to a life was prevented due to the actions of this heroic employee."
Utah eliminated its permit requirement for concealed carry last month, making it legal for anyone who can lawfully possess a firearm to carry it hidden in public. Bates said the school district follows state and federal laws regarding the allowance of a gun on school property and the teacher was lawfully in possession of the gun.
Cox-Berry was apprehended after a brief struggle with police. He was taken to the Weber County Jail and charged with one count of child kidnapping, which is a first-degree felony with a potential prison sentence of 15 years to life.
Authorities said there's no apparent link between the 11-year-old girl and the suspect.
Enyon also told the local news outlet that Cox-Berry appeared to be "high on some type of narcotic."
"We certainly understand how anyone looking at the situation and seeing a child, a group of children, potentially in danger from a stranger and school employee intervening—absolutely we can understand that being categorized as a heroic act," Bates told
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Hope that teach don't get suspended, being from Oregon.
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Okie743: 31517033953179/comments/31517065643803
Hope that teach don't get suspended, being from Oregon.
Not Oregon, Ogden. As in Ogden, Utah.
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Plus Dano, many of the guys had guns in the rear window rack of their truck. How times have changed.
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