Georgia high school teacher fires gun in class, injuring nobody but feeding gun debate


Dalton High School in Dalton, Georgia, was put on lockdown and evacuated Wednesday after a popular social studies teacher, Jesse Randal Davidson, fired a handgun through an outside window. Nobody was injured from the gunshot, but one student hurt her ankle in the rush to get out of the school. Davidson, 53, fired the gun at about 11:30 a.m., during his planning period, after students and then Principal Steve Bartoo were unable to get into the classroom, Bartoo said. When he returned with a key, Bartoo said, Davidson "slammed the door before I could open it and he said, 'Don't come in here, I have a gun.'"
Davidson was taken into police custody after a standoff with police that lasted 30 to 45 minutes, police spokesman Bruce Frazier said, and the motive is still unclear. "I don't know whether he was just firing the gun off to let people know to back off or what," Frazier said. But it did not take long for Dalton High students to tie their fright to the national debate on gun violence and arming teachers, as President Trump and the NRA have suggested.
Nathangel Lopez, who posted that photo, later said about arming teachers: "At first, I was thinking that that might have been a good idea. I am now totally against it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
What to know as student loan collections resume
the explainer The restart comes as part of the Trump administration's reversal of Biden-era policies
-
'We already have the tools to do better'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
speed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star program
speed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
-
US proposes eroding species protections
Speed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
-
Severe storms kill dozens across central US
Speed Read At least 40 people were killed over the weekend by tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms
-
Rain helps Los Angeles wildfires, risks mudslides
Speed Read The weather provided relief for crews working to contain wildfires, though rain over a burn area ups the chances of flooding and mudslides
-
Death toll rises in LA fires as wind lull allows progress
Speed Read At least 24 people have died and 100,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders
-
Biden cancels Italy trip as raging LA fires spread
Speed Read The majority of the fires remain 0% contained
-
Fast-spreading Los Angeles wildfires spark panic
Speed Read About 30,000 people were under an evacuation order as the inferno spread
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cyclone
Speed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean