LITTLETON, Colo. — The gunman was walking through a middle school parking lot and taking shots at students with a hunting rifle as terrified teenagers ran for their lives. He had just wounded two students and seemed ready to unleash more violence when math teacher David Benke sprung into action.
Benke confronted the 32-year-old gunman, tackled him and pinned him to the ground with the help of another teacher, stopping what could have been a much more violent encounter in a city all too familiar with tragic school shootings.
The shooting occurred less than three miles from where the Columbine High School massacre happened nearly 11 years ago.
“Unfortunately he got another round off before I could grab him,” Benke said. “He figured out that he wasn’t going to be able to get another round chambered before I got to him so he dropped the gun and then we were kind of struggling around trying to get him subdued.”
The two students survived Tuesday’s shooting and one remained hospitalized.
Police said they aren’t immediately sure about what motivated Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood to target Deer Creek Middle School just after classes had ended for the day. Investigators spent Wednesday interviewing school staff members in attempt to reconstruct the shooting, and they have found live rounds from the hunting rifle at several places on school grounds.
Eastwood has an arrest record in Colorado dating back to 1996 for menacing, assault, domestic violence and driving under the influence, and he is believed to have a history of mental issues. The sheriff’s department said Eastwood is an unemployed ranch hand and former student of the school who has been attending community college off and on in pursuit of his GED. The department said he was cooperative with during his interview with investigators.
Meanwhile, Benke became a national hero. A Facebook page called “Dr. David Benke Is A Hero!!!!” quickly grew to more than 14,000 members by this morning, and his actions were discussed on the floor of the state Senate.
“Sometimes that’s just what we need. We need someone to be a hero for us,” said state Sen. Mike Kopp of Littleton, who lives in Benke’s neighborhood.
Benke, a father of 7-year-old twins and a 13-year-old daughter, fought back tears after Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink thanked him. “Believe me when I say, I think he stopped what could have been a more tragic event than it was this afternoon,” Mink said.
The victims, students Reagan Webber and Matt Thieu, were both treated at Littleton Adventist Hospital, where spokeswoman Christine Alexander said Webber was treated and released to her home. Thieu was transferred to The Children’s Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition late Tuesday.
Benke, a 6-foot-5 former college basketball player who oversees the school’s track team, was monitoring the parking lot in the afternoon when he heard what he thought was a firecracker and began walking toward the noise.
“At first when I was walking over there, it was kind of what a teacher does,” Benke said, still shaken hours after the shooting. “‘Hey kid, what are you doing,’ you know that kind of thing.”
He said another teacher was quickly on the scene and both of them pinned the gunman to the ground. Eastwood was armed with a bolt-action rifle.
“I basically have my arms and legs wrapped around him, (the other teacher) has his forearm around his front and we were basically trying to get the guy to quit struggling.”
“I talked to him while we were on the ground,” Benke added. “I was underneath him and his face was pretty close to mine. I asked him, ‘Why did you do this? Were you a student here?’
“He either didn’t respond or his responses didn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Benke said.
The shooting rattled a city that was devastated in 1999 when two students shot and killed 12 students and a teacher in one of the deadliest school rampages in U.S. history. The middle school is right down the road from Columbine High School, and is located on West Columbine Drive.
Benke told a TV station that he took part in drills after Columbine and recalled thinking that if the same thing happened, “I hope that I could go after him.”
Investigators said Eastwood visited the school previously and was inside shortly before the shooting. He is expected to make his first court appearance today and may face at least two counts of attempted murder.
In 2005, Eastwood participated in a NASA-funded medical study in which he spent 10 days in a hospital bed so scientists could study muscle wasting, an affliction experienced by astronauts during long flights, according to a story in the Rocky Mountain News at the time.
He told the newspaper that he had a lifelong dream of being an astronaut and described his occupation to the newspaper as horse trainer working at his father’s ranch. He pocketed $2,200 from the study and was able to spend a week and a half watching DVDs and playing video games during the bed experiment.
A man who answered the phone Tuesday night at a number listed for Eastwood identified himself only as “Mr. Eastwood” and said he was Bruco Eastwood’s father. He was at a loss for words.
“There’s nothing you can say about it. What can you say?” the man told The Associated Press. “Pretty dumb thing to do. I feel bad for the people involved.” He wouldn’t comment further.
As for Benke, he said he still wishes he could have done: “It bugs me that he got another round off” before Benke tackled him.
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