Campus Police Officer Shoots Mom Waving Gun at Atlanta High School Students
Authorities say the mother refused to comply with the campus police officer’s repeated commands to put down her gun.
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Atlanta, Georgia – The mother of a student at Booker T. Washington High School who brought a firearm onto campus and waved it at students was shot by a campus police officer.
The incident happened on March 30 during a fight that broke out among students after classes had been dismissed, reports the Charlotte Observer. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Atlanta Public Schools (APS), at about 4:17 p.m., Tierra Vachon, 30, arrived at the school and got involved in an argument. Authorities say that during the altercation, Vachon waved her firearm at students and school employees.
She refused to comply with an APS officer’s repeated commands to put down the weapon, reports Fox5. The campus police officer then shot the woman once, hitting her in the hand. Her injuries weren’t life-threatening, and she was treated by paramedics at the scene.
Vachon faces charges of obstruction of a law enforcement officer with violence, carrying/possessing a gun on campus, disrupting a public school, aggravated assault, cruelty to children, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The parent of another child at the high school told CBS46 she would also press charges against Vachon.
“She was putting her hand and her gun at me and my daughter and I’m pressing charges that’s the dumbest thing to do to pull up to a kid fight, pull out a gun and get shot,” Cynthia Leakes told the news station.
The school district issued the following statement regarding the incident:
Following a physical altercation between students during dismissal at Washington High School, a parent came to the campus with a weapon and began waving it in the direction of students, employees, and an Atlanta Public Schools Police Officer. The officer ordered the parent to drop the weapon. When the parent did not comply with the order, the officer fired one shot which struck the parent in the hand.
Paramedics were called to the scene to treat the parent’s wound. No students or school employees were harmed during the incident. APS Police and Atlanta Police are conducting a full investigation of the incident, and the parent faces several charges. As this was an officer-involved shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating as well.
The safety and well-being of our students and employees is always a top priority for all Atlanta Public Schools.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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