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The actions of Antoinette Tuff helped prevent a potential national tragedy on the scale of the Sandy Hook event, this after the elementary school bookkeeper talked a gunman down from firing his weapon. Tuff’s composure during a recorded 911 call of the event was an amazing display of compassion and quick thinking.

On Tuesday (August 21), Michael Brandon Hill, 20, reportedly walked into the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, Ga. With an AK-47 rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition. After his unauthorized entry into the school, Tuff greeted him at the secretary’s desk. What transpired from that point on is nearly unexplainable.

Hill demanded Tuff to call a local news station, loaded his gun in front of her, and intended on murdering police in a standoff. However, Tuff actually called 911 and she didn’t ruin the element of surprise. Instead, she worked as if she were a seasoned police negotiator. For 22 minutes, Tuff talked to Hill carefully and even sharing some of her own hardships as the pair seemed to bond over emotional misfortune.

“Don’t feel bad, baby,” Tuff tells Hill. “”I’d just lost my husband after 33 years and that was the only man that I knew since I was 13 years old . … I’ve got a son that’s multiple disabled.”

Hill can be heard in a recording of the call speaking with Tuff, and it is obvious by the tone of his voice he was under stress. Tuff, however, never cracked under the pressure until the very end when police rushed in to arrest him.

“That’s all he got is his phone. It’s just him,” Tuff can be heard saying. “Okay. I’m gonna tell you something, baby, I ain’t never been so scared in all the days of my life.”

If that’s the case, we’ll take that kind of fear any day of the week. And as President Barack Obama said during a call with her before an interview with CNN, Antoinette Tuff is a true American hero.

Check out Tuff’s interview with WSBT in the video clip below. Hit the next page to see mugshots of suspect Michael Brandon Hill.

Photos: Facebook, Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office

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