Student: Principal shot at high school said "I'm fine" on intercom
HARRISBURG, S.D. --A senior student at a South Dakota high school says her principal came onto the intercom to speak to the school minutes after authorities say he was shot by a student.
Eighteen-year-old Aanna Okerlund says she was in college algebra when one of her classmates ran into the room to tell the class he had seen a student with a gun.
Okerlund says principal Kevin Lein came onto the intercom shortly afterward to tell students there was a school-wide lockdown. She says Lein later told students by intercom that he had been shot "but was fine."
Authorities say the shooting may have turned out far worse if not for the intervention of an assistant principal.
The shooting at Harrisburg High School happened at about 10 a.m. Authorities say a student got into a dispute with Lein in the principal's office, pulled a gun and shot the principal in the arm. One shot was fired, reports CBS affiliate KELO.
Sioux Falls Police Officer Sam Clemens says Assistant Principal Ryan Rollinger tackled the student and held him down with help from athletic director Joe Struwe.
Rollinger is being hailed as a hero.
"I can't speak highly enough of what kind of person that is," Sioux Falls Police Officer Sam Clemens told KELO.
Lein suffered what's been called a flesh wound. School officials say he is in good spirits, reports KELO.
Authorities say they don't know what may have caused the dispute. They say a suspected shooter was in custody and no students were reported hurt.
Okerlund, the student, says students were crying and shaking in the corner of the classroom while they waited for news.
Okerlund says the incident is "surreal." She says she has gone to Harrisburg public schools her entire life and it's always been a safe environment.