RIGBY, Idaho – When a student opened fire at an Idaho middle school, teacher Krista Gneiting directed children to safety, rushed to help a wounded victim and then calmly disarmed the sixth-grade shooter, hugging and consoling the girl until police arrived.
Parents credited the math teacher's display of compassion with saving lives. While two students and the school custodian were shot May 6, all three survived, and the gunfire was over within minutes.
Gneiting's family says bravery and empathy are just part of who she is. In an interview with ABC News that aired Wednesday, Gneiting said she was preparing her Rigby Middle School students for their final exams when she heard the first gunshot down the hall.