The man completed mental health treatment days before.
QUICK FACTS:
- A Florida police officer saved children at Ruth N. Upson Elementary School in Jacksonville, Florida from an ax-wielding assailant on Friday afternoon.
- The man, Eric David Hurley, 37, attempted to enter the school and asked the entry clerk “You want to be next?” according to local news.
- Witnesses along the walkway are quoted in the report as saying Hurley followed them while occasionally holding the ax above his head.
- An officer eventually shot Hurley in the parking lot of the Murray Hill Church near the school after a report about his behavior was reported to the police.
- The school was put into lockdown.
STATEMENT FROM OFFICIALS:
- A statement from the church director that was sent to parents reads in part: “Ruth N. Upson Elementary had gone into lockdown due to a man on campus with an ax. This man proceeded to follow two women down Dancy Street and ended at Murray Hill Baptist Church, where they sought safety. Immediately upon notification, our classrooms went into lockdown mode. Your child’s safety is our most important priority and will always continue to be!”
- Police Chief Greg Burton said that the attacker left the school and was encouraged by officers to disarm outside the building: “As the subject came towards one of the police officers, the officers gave him verbal warnings to drop the ax, kept giving him verbal warnings to drop the ax,” Burton said. “At that time, the subject threatened the officer with the ax. The subject then was shot at least one time as the officer discharged his service weapon.”
BACKGROUND:
- The incident at the Florida school comes just a few months after Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas led to the deaths of students and teachers.
- Footage from the attack in Uvalde showed Police waiting to engage the shooter, likely leading to a much higher death toll.
