UPDATE 6:18 PM: AP- Police now say Florida school board gunman killed himself; was not fatally shot by guard.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) - A gunman was shot to death by a
security guard at a school board meeting Tuesday after he walked up
to a podium, spray painted a red 'V' with a circle around it and
began firing, a school official said.
Bay District spokeswoman Karen Tucker said former police officer
Mike Jones, the head of the school district's security, shot the
gunman as he confronted board members. Jones is also a former board
member, she said.
There were no other injuries. The gunman's name has not been
released.
Reporter Daniel Carson of the Panama City News Herald was at the
meeting and said the man didn't appear agitated while sitting in
the back of the room.
Carson and other reporters said the man then came to the podium
and began talking, perhaps cursing. He pulled out a can of red
spray paint and painted the 'V' with a circle around it on a wall.
The man then pulled out what appeared to be a handgun and told
everyone to leave except the male members of the board, Carson
said. School board member Ginger Littleton hit the gunman with her
purse and he appeared to push her to the ground, Carson and other
reporters said. He then started firing randomly.
Carson and others ran outside. Carson said he peeked through the
door and could see the man talking to the remaining board members.
When he closed the door, Carson said he heard two shots. He went
back inside and it appeared Jones had entered through another door
and shot the gunman in the head.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
