Indian-American teacher hailed for saving students during Florida shooting
New York: An Indian-American maths teacher is being hailed for saving the lives of her students during the shooting rampage at a Florida, high school that left 17 dead.
When an alarm sounded for the second time on Wednesday afternoon, Shanthi Viswanathan shut the doors to her algebra classroom, made the students crouch on the floor and covered the windows, keeping them out of the reach and sight of the gunman, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
"She was quick on her feet. She used her knowledge. She saved a lot of kids," Dawn Jarboe, the mother of one of Viswanathan's students, told the newspaper.
When an elite police SWAT team came and knocked on the door asking her to open it, "Viswanathan took no chance that it wasn't a trick by the gunman to get in" the newspaper said.
"She said, 'knock it down or open it with a key. I'm not opening the door," Jarboe quoted her as telling the police.
"Some SWAT guy took out the window and cleared our room," Jarboe's son, Brian, texted his mother.
It may be recalled that a former student of the school, Nikolas Cruz, barged into Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Valentine's Day and killed 15 students and two staff members with an AR-15 automatic rifle.
However, he was reported to have had a troubled childhood and had threatened in a YouTube post to shoot up schools.
Although it was reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the agency closed the investigation without locating him, according to media reports.
The shooter abandoned his gun and during the ensuing chaos mixed in with the students to escape. He was captured about 40 minutes later in a neighboring town, authorities said.
In the entire Broward County, where Parkland is located, the Indian population is 22,600, according to statisticalatlas.com. But none of those killed are of Indian descent.
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On Good Friday, Goa CM calls for following Christ’s teachings
Panaji (PTI): Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday urged people to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the values of love and redemption on the solemn occasion of Good Friday.
In a post on X, Sawant said the teachings of Jesus Christ on compassion, forgiveness and selflessness should continue to guide people towards peace and righteousness.
“On this solemn occasion of Good Friday, let us reflect on the sacrifice of Lord Jesus Christ and the values of love and redemption he stood for,” the chief minister said in the post.
He said Christ’s message of love, compassion and forgiveness continues to remain relevant and inspires society to follow the path of peace and righteousness.
Good Friday marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and is observed by Christians across the world as a day of prayer, reflection and remembrance. The coastal state of Goa has a sizeable population of Christians.
