A Utah police force has released body camera footage of an officer responding to a shooting at a junior high school earlier this month, in which the 15-year-old gunman’s own parents prevented a potential tragedy.
Officers with the Bountiful Police Department responded to Mueller Park Jr. High School the morning of Dec. 1 after receiving a call of shots fired at the school. The video footage taken from the first responding officer’s body camera showed that it took him under 45 seconds to arrive on the scene.
The video, posted by the department to YouTube, began with a call over the radio, "Student with a gun at Mueller Park Jr. High in Bountiful."
As the officer leaped into action, the dispatcher let patrol officers know that, although the student was an active shooter, he was now under control.
Scroll to the end of the story to watch the video
As the officer arrived at the school and entered the building, he could be seen methodically checking for threats along the way. Lt. Dave Edwards, a spokesman for the Police Department, pointed out during a news conference on Thursday that the video showed exactly how an officer is supposed to react to a situation like the one he walked into.
"He doesn't charge in blindly," Edwards said, according to Fox 13 in Salt Lake City. "He looks, moves each step of the way, making sure it's safe, checking for threats. It's a very methodical process, right up until he locates the suspect."
The officer quickly zoned in on the student’s location in a hallway. The boy’s father was holding him against the wall while the teen’s mother looked on, a 12 gauge shotgun in one hand and a 9 mm handgun in the other.
As the officer ran up to the group, the mother placed the weapons, both of which the student allegedly stole from a safe in his home that morning, on the floor. The officer immediately handcuffed the boy and patted him down to ensure he had no other weapons on him.
Police officials have previously said that the parents noticed the weapons missing and rushed to their son’s school. The 15-year-old student managed to fire a single shot into the ceiling of a science classroom before his mother walked in and grabbed the gun from him.
ABC 4 in Salt Lake City reported that the teen never aimed the shotgun at other students, but instead put the barrel against his own neck.
The Police Department issued a statement on Thursday praising the way both the responding officer and the school's faculty, staff and students handled the frightening situation.
"This video clip details the officer's professionalism in dealing with a critical incident in the school, and ensuring the safety of the students, faculty and staff," the statement read. "The effectiveness of lockdown procedures implemented by school personnel and students is also clearly depicted as the responding officers encounter empty, silent hallways and locked classrooms upon entering the school."
The boy was taken to a youth center, where he faced misdemeanor charges, ABC 4 reported. It was not immediately clear if other charges would be filed against him.
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