Officer who confronted Maryland school shooter throws 1st pitch at Nationals game
Deputy Blaine Gaskill responded immediately to a shooter at his school.
The resource officer who confronted a gunman inside a Maryland high school last month threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals' Opening Day game today.
When shots were fired at Great Mills High School on March 20, the school's sole resource officer, Deputy Blaine Gaskill, responded immediately, authorities said.
The suspected shooter, 17-year-old Austin Rollins, approached 16-year-old Jaelynn Willey in a hallway and shot her once in the head, the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office said. That same round struck 14-year-old Desmond Barnes in the leg.
Rollins continued walking and was confronted by Gaskill. Rollins fired one fatal shot to his own head, and at the same time, Gaskill fired one non-fatal shot, hitting the gun in Rollins' hand, the sheriff's office said.
Two days after the shooting, Willey's mother tearfully announced her daughter would be taken off life support. Willey died hours later. Desmond survived.
Willey and the suspected gunman "had a prior relationship which recently ended," the sheriff's office said, adding that the shooting did not appear to be random.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called Gaskill, 34, a "very capable school resource officer" who is also a SWAT team member.
"This is a tough guy who apparently closed in very quickly and took the right kind of action," Hogan said at a news conference. "And I think while it's still tragic, he may have saved other people's lives."
The Nationals' home opener against the New York Mets began at 1:05 p.m.
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