Illinois School Resource Officer Interrupts School Shooter

Illinois School Resource Officer Interrupts School Shooter

Dixon High School's School Resource Officer has been called a hero after interrupting a student who fired several shots in the school.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • May 18, 2018

Roughly 180 students were in the gymnasium of Dixon High School in Illinois practicing for graduation at around 8 a.m. on Wednesday when authorities say a 19-year-old senior came out of the bathroom with a gun and started firing.

School resource officer Mark Dallas was quick to the scene, rushing the shooter in an effort to protect the students, including his own son.

Seniors inside the gym told local reporters that they heard four to five shots ring out and the SRO yell, "Hey, stop." Students barricaded themselves in classrooms as they had been trained to do, others ran from the building as fast as they can.

As the shooter was running away, he fired at Dallas, who returned fire, hitting the suspect in the shoulder. Dallas then arrested the suspect.

School officials and law enforcement praised Dallas as a hero. Without his quick thinking and fearlessness, "much worse things would have happened" that day.

"Our kids did a fantastic job, our staff did a fantastic job, our resource officer did a fantastic job," school principal Mike Grady said at a news conference. "It was a situation where this is the best possible outcome we could have."

The mother of the shooter says she had no idea he had possession of a gun, which belonged to her, but was kept at her 91-year-old grandfather's house. The suspect has been charged with three felony counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and remains at an area hospital on 24-hour watch. 

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Ransomware Attacks Rise for the First Time in Six Months

    Ransomware attacks have risen for the first time in six months, increasing by 28% month-on-month to 421 attacks. While overall attack volume remained below 500, the uptick may signal a renewed escalation heading into the year’s most active period for cyber criminals. Read Now

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.