Antionette Tuff, a Georgia elementary school bookkeeper, has become a household name following the release of her 911 call on Tuesday when armed gunman Brandon Hill entered the school where she works.
According to CNN reports, Tuff was held hostage by Hill. She called 911, relaying to dispatch Hill’s warning that he would shoot any armed police officers who came in the building. During the conversation, you can hear Tuff conversing with Hill in a calm and clearheaded way.
Through the course of this phone call Tuff talked with Hill and got to know his situation, eventually convincing him that if he put down his gun and left peacefully he wouldn’t be harmed. But she didn’t just talk at him. She engaged him. Instead of begging for her own life, she made the conversation about him, assuring him that if he backed down he wouldn’t be hurt. She told him she would let the police know he hadn’t done anything to harm her. She reminded him he hadn’t killed anyone yet. She focused on the positives in the situation. Then she told him of her own struggle after her marriage of 33 years ended.