Posted on 08/25/2009 12:38:28 PM PDT by AreaMan
Posted: 8:18 am PDT August 25, 2009Updated: 11:55 am PDT August 25, 2009
Santana’s actions were being praised Tuesday for preventing a ‘Columbine-Style’ massacre at the San Mateo high school attended by more than 1,000 students.
He told KTVU that his Monday had a pretty normal start. It was around 8 a.m. and he had just checked in at the school office when the events began to unfold.
“I was on my way to make some copies,” he told KTVU. “I heard the first bang --- it sounded more like a crash to me. So that slowed me down. The second bang came right after that. There was a rush of students and teachers going away from the noise.”
What Santana did not know at the time was the noise was two pipe bombs exploding in a hallway. Fortunately, no one was injured by the blasts and instead of joining the exodus out of school, Santana decided to go toward the noise.
“I decided to turn around and go back the way I came and that’s when the young man came through some glass doors, “he said. “We were facing each other face-to-face.”
“I did not recognize him,” he continued. “I just started my third year at Hillsdale High School so I haven’t been there very long.”
But what Santana did recognize was the military-style vest the young man was wearing.
“It was a reaction, it was really quick,” he said. “After I had my hands on him, I made decisions about what I wanted to do. But closing the distance and grabbing the young man, there wasn’t a lot thinking involved in that.”
“Once he was on the ground,” Santana said. “I saw one pipe bomb on a back pocket. What I did realize, I kind of recognized, was the type of vest he had on. It was a tactical vest.”
The English Language Development Teacher wasted little time subduing the suspect.
“I put him in a bear hug and then I decided to flip him and put him on the ground,” he said. “That’s when the thinking came in -- I thought -- ’If I'm wrong, I’ll apologize to his parents later and if I’m right I’m going to hold this kid down.’”
At that moment, a teacher came out of a nearby classroom and Santana told her to go get help.
“That’s when the principal (Jeff Gilbert) came with another counselor,” he said. “Between the three of us – the principal took an arm, I held onto an arm and (the counselor) took the legs. We restrained the kid until the police came.”
When asked if the young man said anything to him, Santana said: “He said he couldn’t breathe -- which was too bad for him I guess.”
Santana said even nearly 24 hours later he was not having any second thoughts about the risks he took.
“I definitely feel like I did the right thing,” he said. “When I think about the risk, I never really looked at his hands, so thinking back, if he had something in his hands that would have been bad for me.”
“I haven’t had enough time to realize the danger I was in,” he continued. “I slept well last night.”
But his heroics were not lost on San Mateo Police Lt. Mike Brunicardi.
"All the while that the teachers and principal are confronting this kid, holding him down and tackling him, he's got eight live pipe bombs attached to his person," he said.
Meanwhile, the 17-year-old suspect remained in juvenile custody Tuesday while authorities decide on what charges will be filed against him. He has not been identified because he is a juvenile. The high school was closed for the day.
Copyright 2009 by KTVU.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
When asked if the young man said anything to him, Santana said: “He said he couldn’t breathe -- which was too bad for him I guess.”
When it is finally revealed that the student was only trying to fend off the zombie attack, you’ll all feel very foolish won’t you?
See I told you all that not all public school teachers are libtards. I feel like I am in good company with this guy!
Need more sword and chainsaw background checks.
I blame Bruce Campbell movies.
Bogus headline - how can you do a massacre with just some lead pipes and a sword?
He’ll probably be sued for assult against the student.
He’ll probably be sued for assault against the student.
Bet the teacher gets required to take mandatory aggression control training because of poor impulse control as evidenced by his willingness to resort to violence before attempting to use reason and persuasion.
How does a kid walk around with a sword and chainsaw and not create a fire-storm of attention?
Beat me too it! Kudos to this guy.
Good American men protect all of us!
Thank you men!
And close the gun show loophole for pipe-bombs!
I would consider a teaching career if we were allowed to “subdue and tackle”, aaahhhhh, the good ol’days!
I'm not sure but somehow the Teacher's Union must be to blame.
When asked if the young man said anything to him, Santana said: “He said he couldn’t breathe — which was too bad for him I guess.”
LOL - I love it. Thank God for brave people like this that take charge.
Maybe he was in wood shop class....
The teacher hasn’t been fired yet?!
nope I know quite a few that aren’t. But they are the minority.
Next thing we'll see is former TSA bureaucrats cruising plumbing supplies looking for potential terrorists.
“I blame Bruce Campbell movies.”
Groovy.
“KLATU.......MIRADA.........NIC*cough*”
Too bad the teacher wasn’t armed. He could’ve picked off the perp from down the hall in time, restoring order in time for second period.
We have got to pass more laws to control chain saws.
Maybe adding a three day waiting period and a requirement to have an open carry permit will put a stop to the madness.
Later on they can put serial numbers on every chain link.
He can’t be fending off a zombie attack. He didn’t have his S-Mart boomstick with him. You can’t fend off a zombie attack without a shotgun, it’s in the rules.
}:-)4
That is one very messed up young man and one really good teacher.
Yet I would be willing to bet he would have never made it through the front door if he had a bible and was wearing a t-shirt that said "it's a life not a choice"
Lawsuit pending, I'll bet. The ACLU won't let this stand.
“I slept well last night.”
And well earned...
I'm not trying to be funny or sarcastic. Really.
How did all of this not qualify as a "fire-storm" of attention?
Chainsaw registration, and a ten day waiting period. Close the lumberjack loophole.
I used to subdue and tackle, but now, I snore and tinkle.
Everyone just assumed he was going through his "Goth" phase.
“Next thing we’ll see is former TSA bureaucrats cruising plumbing supplies looking for potential terrorists.”
Only when plumbing supply houses are frequented by members of Queer nation, will TSA patrol them.
However, there is the very real possibility that TSA personnel will cruise plumbing supply houses when they install greasy grills and other fast food equipment.
WHy such equipment? Because TAS is manned with all too many Fast Food Rejects with police powers.
ok I mustve blew thru these brain cells during Shakespere...
besides it being a high school, how in the hell does this bear any resemblance to 'Columbine' ???
>>”I decided to turn around and go back...”
This guy is a soldier. “...move toward the sound of the guns.”
DG
LOL, best line indeed! Very funny! What a hero Mr. Santana is!
Touching the poor child probably violated his civil rights. Just wait for the lawsuit....sexual harrassment, perhaps.
< / libthink>
I used to sub, because when I was in school way back in the previous century when education was served, we had very cool and interesting subs.
I thought I'd return the favor(being a real cool and interesting guy myself now).
I found it was a wasteland, a bad crop that needed to be ploughed under before it could cause anymore damage to our collective cultural soil.
Don't axe me how I really feel.
But they are the minority.
Yes we are, but don’t think that the ones in the middle of this great country are not conservative. Many guage all of us based on the libtards in New York, Chicago, DC and LA - we are not liberal and not paid nearly as much as they are.
Touching the poor child probably violated his civil rights. Just wait for the lawsuit....sexual harrassment, perhaps.
Nope, the perp was a FORMER student.
Hey for the good guys. Thanks for hanging in there!
KUDOS to him.He did the right thing right away. If he tried to talk the kid down like most idjit liberal teachers would have done, he could have lit up another bomb and touched it off.
Has anybody heard what the trigger mechanism was, on the pipe bombs?
A sword and a chainsaw. That’s original at least.
Kids need (and want) discipline and strong role models. I'll bet few students screw around in his class, and that if he's not already, he'll be one of the most popular teachers in the school.
> Bogus headline - how can you do a massacre with just some lead pipes and a sword?
I dunno — someone with a proper razor-sharp katana and the right technique could julienne his school mates and teachers all day, or until the cops shoot him dead. And eight pipe bombs and a decent-sized propane tank could make an ugly hole in a school building.
A tidy massacre by anyone’s definition.
I used to reatrain 22 year old weight lifters in prison. By the time I retired I was wrestling paperwork and going to meetings. Teachers don’t get any training in this as far as I remember. Took some guts to step up.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.