The teen who saved his South

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The teen who saved his South Dakota school from a Columbine-like tragedy

Before Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and Columbine, there almost could have been Rapid City, had it not been for the swift acts of senior Chris Ericks. On Sept. 11, 1991, 17-year-old Ryan Harris entered Stevens High School in Rapid City, S.D., walked into a math class, demanded that the teacher leave, and held 22 of his fellow students, including Ericks, hostage with a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun. For four hours, the students cowered, while the young man blared demands for pizza, cigarettes, $1 million, and a helicopter getaway over the public address system, accenting each order by firing his weapon into the classroom. He shot at the chalkboard, the ceiling, and the window, making it clear that he had plenty of ammo and that he would leave no survivors. But then, for one moment, Harris put his gun down and Ericks lunged for it. Harris, realizing his mistake, jumped at the shotgun too, and the pair struggled for control. Ericks, however, won the tug-of-war, and the gunman was overpowered. "To this day, I'm so proud of Chris Ericks for having the courage to do what he did to bring the situation to a close," police Capt. Christopher Grant told the Rapid City Journal in 2011.

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