No injuries reported
Dwight Anthony “Tony” Brown
By Shawn Jarrard
North Georgia News
Terror struck at the heart of Union County Schools the day before classes were set to begin last week when a disgruntled school employee shot up a maintenance vehicle parked at the primary school on Thursday, Aug. 11.
The suspect quickly left school grounds and, following an extensive law enforcement search of the area, was apprehended less than an hour later.
School officials requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to handle the case, and a GBI representative stressed Thursday evening that there was no longer a threat to the public following the “targeted” incident.
Not much has been disclosed as the GBI continues its investigation, but what information has been released should be reassuring to school staff, parents, students and the community at large, as the incident was not the typical example of a tragic school shooting people dread seeing in the news.
What started as a potential active shooter threat ultimately ended in no one being physically injured and the GBI has clarified that the “isolated shooting” was the result of a “specific unoccupied vehicle” — and not people — being targeted by gunfire in the school parking lot.
Dwight Anthony “Tony” Brown, 64, of Blairsville, was arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with three counts of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting at the primary school, the GBI said.
Brown was a maintenance employee at the schools who had been working on campus the day prior to the shooting. While an exact motive for his alleged actions remains unclear at present, the GBI did say it was accurate to describe Brown as a “disgruntled employee.”
Regarding his employment of 16 years at the schools, Brown’s position was officially terminated in a called school board meeting on Sunday, Aug. 14. He was no longer allowed on school grounds. Further, he was denied bond last week and remained behind bars at the Union County Jail at press time.
Multiple emergency agencies responded swiftly to the 2:16 p.m. call of shots fired outside the school on Thursday. Brown was identified as the suspect in a matter of minutes. Authorities issued a “lookout” for his red Chevrolet truck.
“A patrolman with our agency located the truck and a stop was made on the vehicle around the town square,” Blairsville Police Chief Michael Baxter said. “The suspect was taken into custody without incident. At no time did the suspect enter the school, nor fire a weapon inside any building.”
It took just 41 minutes for Brown to be located and apprehended after the call first went out. He was subsequently booked into the jail.
For nearly an hour after witnesses initially heard gunshots, Union County Schools remained on “hard lockdown,” including at Woody Gap in Suches, only coming out of lockdown once the alleged shooter was arrested.
As part of the lockdown, teachers and staff went into classrooms, turned off lights, locked and barricaded doors, remained silent and “prepared to fight” should anyone break in, Superintendent John Hill said.
“That classroom door doesn’t open for anybody except for law enforcement or a school administrator in a keyed release once the incident is over,” Hill said, adding that all staff followed their training and were released to go home after receiving the all-clear.
While the shooting took place the day before classes were to let back in from summer break, it appears a small number of students and parents were present on campus for a second day of “Meet Your Teacher” at the primary school; but again, no one was shot at or hurt.
“A lot of people don’t think this kind of thing could ever happen here, but it can — it can happen anywhere,” Hill said. “We have to be prepared and pray every day to God that it doesn’t happen and we thank the Lord that he protected us.
“That’s one big point I want to make, to thank God for the hedge of protection he put around the school district and for the great partnerships we have with all of our local law enforcement agencies and our staff, their commitment to safety.
“It’s horrible, but we had this happen and there were no injuries. That’s a huge blessing and a lot of it is attributed to God protecting us, but also, people were prepared and did their job.”
Hill announced Thursday night that the first day of classes would be postponed in light of the shooting and after discussing the options for returning in the called meeting Sunday, it was decided that students would start their new school year on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Monday, Aug. 15, served as a staff workday and a crisis counselor with the Georgia Department of Education Employee Assistance Program met with employees in need, as did multiple local pastors to offer additional counseling support.
Making Monday a staff workday gave the schools time to assess potential staffing issues regarding employees who may not have wished to return to campus after the traumatic incident; put classrooms back in order after furniture was used to barricade doors during the “hard lockdown;” and provide counseling services to staff members before students returned Tuesday.
The benefit of hindsight revealed that no one was injured and the danger was limited in scope, but at the time, teachers and others who were present for the systemwide lockdown did not know anything about the shocking incident until after the lockdown was lifted.
Several employees heard the shots when they were fired, the screams of their coworkers in the initial confusion and chaos, and people locked down across the district were in real fear for their lives.
Some educators even fashioned makeshift weapons as they hid in barricaded classrooms, prepared to fight for their own lives and those of others, as detailed in a firsthand account written by a primary school teacher that was read aloud in the Aug. 14 board meeting.
Because of the terror many in the schools experienced in the incident, school counselors are being made available to staff and students on an ongoing basis to assist them in working through their concerns and difficulties regarding the harrowing event.
Understandably, there has been much anxiety among parents. Hill said he agrees with parents’ concerns about the safety of their children. He wants them to know he has full confidence in the Union County Schools Police Department, Chief Chad Deyton and all school staff due in no small part to the timely and appropriate response to the shooting last week.
“We are super committed to our No. 1 goal, which is safety,” Hill said. “That was demonstrated (Aug. 11) in the sense that we were able to contain an active shooter situation that resulted in an arrest and no injuries.
“We will continue to be committed to our student and staff safety, whether it’s the first day of school or last day of school. We will continue to prepare for this type of thing and pray daily that it never happens again.”
On the subject of preparation, Hill said that school police regularly train in coordination with outside agencies for just such events, as do faculty and other school staff, with active shooter training having taken place several times in the last month alone.
Hill thanked all responding agencies, and he commended school police for securing the campuses, as well as faculty and staff for following their training, getting to safe locations and securing individual classrooms.
Finally, Hill said that all local law enforcement agencies have 24/7 keycard access to the buildings of the school system to ensure a similar swift response in the event of a worst-case scenario down the road.
The following agencies were involved in the response last week: Union County Schools Police, Union County Sheriff’s Office, Blairsville Police Department, Union County Fire Department, Union County Emergency Management Agency, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division, Tennessee Valley Authority Police, Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.
“Once the investigation is complete, it will be given to the Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney for prosecution,” the GBI said.
Brown has been charged only and is presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.