Brave teacher disarms student gunman with bare hands, saves lives

A Washington state high school teacher, Brady Olson, has averted what could have been another tragedy after he disarmed and arrested a 16-year-old student shooter.

gathered that Olson, an AP government and civics instructor, at North Thurston High School, tackled the shooter who opened fire into the ceiling at about 7:30 am.

Cmdr. Joe Upton of the Lacey Police Department in Lacey, Wash., told The Washington Post, that "a teacher [Olson] tackled the young man after the second shot was fired."

Olson is being seen as a hero for his bravery and the school district spokeswoman, Courtney Schrieve, believed he saved a lot of lives b his action.

“He is a very brave man who probably saved a lot of people today,” Schrieve told KCPQ.

But Olson feels he did nothing special.

As always, students come first, and today was no different," he said in a statement published on the school's website.

"I reacted in a way that any other teacher would react..."

But Lacey Police Commander, Chris Ward, feels the act is heroic.

"I think it's heroic, “he told King 5 News.

"People rise to the occasion when they need to do something. I think, in this case, it probably prevented worse things from happening."

Many students like ‏@TytlerGage have taken to Twitter to praise the teacher: