DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - A man who was persuaded by a bookkeeper to surrender during a 2013 gun battle with police at a school near Atlanta pleaded guilty to multiple charges Tuesday and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Michael Brandon Hill, 21, entered the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur on Aug. 20, 2013, with a rifle and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition, according to police. He exchanged gunshots with officers from inside the school before school bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff persuaded him to surrender. Tuff said later that she prayed as she tried to persuade him.
No one was hurt in the gunfire. Hill's attorney has said Hill has a history of mental illness, was trying to commit suicide and did not intend to hurt anyone else.
Tuff can be heard on 911 tapes, calmly trying to persuade the gunman to give up.
Tuff begins by telling Hill of her own struggles, including raising a disabled child and losing her husband. The bookkeeper reassured him by saying he didn't hurt anyone, hadn't harmed her and could still surrender peacefully.
"We're not gonna hate you, baby. It's a good thing that you're giving up," Tuff says after having Hill put his weapons and ammunition on the counter. Tuff tells Hill she loves him and will pray for him.
President Barack Obama later called Tuff and praised her for the courage she displayed during the ordeal.
Hill was indicted in DeKalb County Superior Court on charges that included aggravated assault, terroristic threats, firearms violations and obstruction.
The school, a few miles east of Atlanta, has more than 800 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
Published: Wed, Sep 17, 2014
