911 Caller Faces Down Armed School Intruder

Antoinette Tuff is the type of person that every dispatcher should hope is on the other end of a  911 call. What’s more, Tuff is just the type of person you hope is calling when a mentally unstable man with an AK-47 walks into an an elementary school and begins firing off rounds. In fact, Tuff was the bookkeeper at Ronald E. McNair Discvoer Learning Academy in Dekalb (Geo.) last Tuesday when Michael Hill walked into the school’s entrance, and it was Tuff who dialed 911 for help. Over the next 24 minutes Tuff talked kindly to Hill, relayed information to Dekalb County dispatcher dispatcher Kendra McCray, and even used the school’s intercom to give students and teachers safety information. Meanwhile, scores of police surrounded the building, prepared to move but waiting on every bit of information that Tuff was providing to McCray. At one point Hill came outside the building and fired several rounds—police later said he was carrying 500 rounds of ammunition. Incredibly, as the situation dragged on, Tuff began telling Hill her own life story, complete with its serious ups and downs. At the end, she had him empty his pockets and take off his backpack. Police then entered the school and came to the office. Several shots were exchanged, but Hill was taken into custody without injuries. Listen to the entire amazing 911 call here. Update: Tuff and McCray were emotionally reunited on Anderson Cooper 360.

Tuff and McCray reunite for the first time in the CNN studios of Anderson Cooper 360.