Before the school day started at Sparks Middle School near Reno, Nev., on Monday, Oct 21, a student shot and killed a math teacher and himself and wounded two other students using a semiautomatic handgun, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports.
Michael Landsberry, 45, is being called a hero for trying to get the 12- or 13-year-old student, who was not identified, to put his gun down before the student shot him, the paper reported.
The Reuters News Service, via the Chicago Tribune, here, quoted Sparks Mayor Geno Martini as saying that the shooting marked a tragic day for the city: “I just want to reiterate again that the city itself is very safe and this is just an isolated incident. But it’s very, very tragic.”
Although one injured student had to go through emergency surgery, both were listed in stable condition as of Tuesday morning, according to Reuters.
Classes and other activities at the middle school, near the California border, were cancelled for the rest of the week, and counselors are expected to be on hand. About 700 seventh and eighth graders attend Sparks Middle School.
