Oxford High School shooting: Teacher Moises Cortez saves lives as teen shooter kills 4, injures 8
Horror unfolded at a high school in Oxford, Michigan, after a 15-year-old boy shot three students dead and injured eight more on Tuesday, November 30. The teenager, who is currently in custody, led the school shooting that claimed the lives of a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old boy and two girls, who were 14 and 17. Eight others, including a teacher, were critically injured from gunshot wounds and two of them needed surgery.
A video clip from inside the school at the time of the shooting is going viral on social media. Captured on someone's phone camera, the clip shows a bunch of students locked up and hiding inside a dark classroom while an adult guards the door. The person at the door, later identified as the school's Sign Language teacher Moises Cortez, refuses to open the door to the suspect despite him insisting several times. Cortez is being hailed on social media for his act of bravery in the face of a life-threatening situation.
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A student from inside Oxford High School captured this footage of the possible shooter trying to get into the classroom by impersonating a sheriff
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 30, 2021
The students did not open the door and escaped through a windowhttps://t.co/DCKb6l555w pic.twitter.com/gQWOuJPAAL
Though his identity was not officially confirmed, internet sleuths have identified Moises Cortez as the savior teacher, who managed to get the trapped students out through a window to safety. The shooter can be heard addressing him as "bro" and insisting that he was a local sheriff who would protect them.
However, thanks to Cortez's presence of mind, nearly a dozen students managed to stay safe until they were escorted out. Cortez refused to open the door and kept negotiating with the teen shooter, despite the latter begging him to come to check his badge.
Cortez joined the Michigan high school as an American Sign Language teacher in January 2021. Not many details are available about him, but he is being regarded as the 'Hero' at the latest school shooting that has rattled the nation. The active shooter arrived at the school with a handgun at around 12.51 pm and started firing at unsuspecting students and teachers. The local 911 dispatch center received over a hundred calls about the incident, as deputies responded shortly. They nabbed the suspect soon afterward and took him to custody without incident. However, by that time, he had already fired 15-20 shots that killed three and left eight seriously injured.
#oxfordhighschool this guy saved those kids lives today. He's a real hero pic.twitter.com/g6VDym3u9Z
— Scott Bloops (@ScottBloops) December 1, 2021
Addressing the shocking incident, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, "My heart goes out to the families. This is an unimaginable tragedy. I hope we can all rise to the occasion and wrap our arms around the families, the affected children and school personnel, and this community." She also added, "I think this is every parent's worst nightmare."