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In August 2010, sheriff's deputy Carolyn Gudger, then 58 years old and a 14-year veteran on the force (and grandmother of two) was on duty as resource officer at Sullivan Central High School in Blountville, TN, when the school was invaded by an intruder armed with two guns, who pointed a weapon at the principal in a school hallway. Deputy Gudger drew her own sidearm and interposed between the two (allowing the principal to flee), then backed the gunman into an empty hallway and held him at bay for 13 crucial minutes, allowing the school to be safely evacuated and backup to arrive. (The gunman, who had a history of confrontations with law enorcement officers, was shot and killed by one of the two officers who came in response to the alarm; Gudger's only regret is that she didn't succeed in persuading the perpatrator to drop his weapons.) Her conduct in the emergency has been praised as a textbook example of how to respond to this kind of situation, and the surveillance video footage is now used by the sheriff's department as a training film; she has received awards from two professional associations for her courage. Story was reported recently by the Bristol Herald-Courier.
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