School Resource Officer Stopped School Shooting, Authorities Say

A school shooting may have been narrowly averted Wednesday — thanks in part to the quick response of a school resource officer, who shot a gunman before anyone else was harmed.

Authorities in Dixon, Illinois, said Officer Mark Dallas was on duty at Dixon High School near a gymnasium, where students had gathered for a graduation rehearsal, when he heard gunshots at 8:06 a.m. He confronted the gunman, chased him out of the school and pursued him down a nearby street, police said.

The gunman, a student at the school identified as Matthew A. Milby, 19, of Dixon, shot at the officer but missed, police said. Dallas returned fire and struck Milby, who was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

“I could not be more proud of the police officer and the way he responded in this situation,” Dixon Police Chief Steve Howell said. “Because of his heroic actions, countless lives were saved. We are forever indebted to him for his service and his bravery.”

Milby was under 24-hour surveillance at the hospital before he was transferred to Lee County Jail on Thursday, according to the Illinois State Police. He was charged with three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, a felony, with bond set at $2 million.

The police said his mother purchased the weapon, a 9-millimeter semi-automatic rifle, in 2012.

His mother, Julie Milby, told KWQC-TV that her son had been kicked off the football team for smoking marijuana and had recently been beaten up as other children watched. She suspects he was trying to get the police to kill him, she said.

“I wouldn’t have dreamed he would do this in a million years,” she said.

Dallas has been with the Dixon Police Department for 15 years and has 24 total years of law enforcement experience, police said. He has spent five years as the school’s dedicated officer.

He was placed on administrative leave after the shooting, as per policy.

The officer’s performance attracted widespread praise, including from Vice President Mike Pence. He said on Twitter that it was “another example of the brave work performed by law enforcement each and every day.”

“Lives were saved thanks to the heroic actions of school resource officer Mark Dallas,” Pence wrote.

Gov. Bruce Rauner also praised Dallas on Twitter.

Police said the students and staff members “responded to the situation extremely well,” adhering to training by barricading classrooms with desks, bookcases and other objects.

“Our kids did a fantastic job, our staff did a fantastic job, our resource officer did a fantastic job,” Mike Grady, the school’s principal, said at a news conference Wednesday, according to NBC Chicago. “It was a situation where this is the best possible outcome we could have.”

“A lot of things went right today when a great many of them could have gone wrong,” Mayor Liandro Arellano Jr. said at a news conference Wednesday.