TOWNVILLE, S.C.—When two firefighters rolled up to an elementary school shooting, they said they found only a wrecked black pickup truck at the playground. There was no gunman, and no one inside the truck.
Within minutes, though, they performed actions that led to them being hailed as heroes: One went inside to help treat the wounded and the other searched for the shooter.
“This was more than just another call to us. This incident occurred in the school where our children and the children of the community attend,” Townville Fire Chief Billy McAdams said Thursday during a news conference, pausing to collect himself as he recalled the harrowing events of the day before.
Authorities have not released the teen’s name or specific age.
Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said the teen, crying and upset, called his grandmother’s cellphone at 1:44 p.m. Wednesday. The grandparents couldn’t understand what was going on, so they went to his home just 100 yards away. When they got there, they found 47-year-old Jeffrey Osborne dead and their grandson gone.
About one minute later, authorities received a 911 call from a teacher at the school of about 300 pre-kindergarten to sixth-graders.
The teen’s mother, Tiffney Osborne, said in a statement that the family “cannot express the devastation we feel at the loss of our beloved Jeff.” She was at work at the time of the shooting, Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper said.
Both Tiffney and Jeffrey Osborne’s first marriages ended in divorce before they got married. They each had children, who are now adults, with their exes.
Authorities said audio from the 911 calls will not be released while the investigation is ongoing.
In a statement read by the fire chief, Brock said he doesn’t want attention for his actions.
“The true heroes of yesterday’s senseless tragedy are the teachers who put their lives on the line to protect the students and the principal, through fears of her own, did what was right to ensure the safety of those students,” he said. “They deserve to be called the heroes, and I tip my hat to them.”
