The school resource officer who took a loaded gun from a student in Maryland last week said on Wednesday that he's thankful to have been able to disarm the teen safely.
Montgomery County Officer Troy Melott was the school resource officer at Clarksburg High School who found a Glock 19 pistol in a student's book bag. Another student told him about the gun.
"That's the last thing I wanted to know, but it was real. It was there," Melott said. "I am blessed that I had people around me, that we all did the right thing and there was no incident from it."
A day after the high school shooting massacre in Parkland, Florida, a student told Melott that 18-year-old Alwin Chen had a gun. Police say Chen then admitted he had it and cooperated with Melott without resistance, avoiding what could have become a dangerous incident.
Melott, who has worked in law enforcement for 29 years, brushed off being called a hero.
"I took this job as a police officer, and part of my mission statement was to lay down my life for others, like those who've come before me," he said. "That is part of my job, and that's what I would do to protect others."
Bruck Patrick, the parent of a student at the school, said he was thankful for the team of six security officers who work at Clarksburg High.
"I think they're doing an excellent job here. We feel completely safe at this school," he said.
Chen repeatedly took a gun to school, a student told police. He wrote in his journal that he felt lonely, worthless and ready to die. His defense attorneys say he was a model student who never threatened anyone.
