JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police on Friday released the 911 calls from Tuesday's murder-suicide at Episcopal School of Jacksonville on Friday.
Police said 28-year-old Shane Schumerth brought an AK-47 on campus hidden in a guitar case, shot and killed head of school Dale Regan, then killed himself. Schumerth had been fired earlier in the day.
The first call into police came from someone who was in the office with Regan when Schumerth barged in. The caller calmly told the dispatcher what happened.
Dispatcher: "I need to know a description and where they're at."
LISTEN: 911 calls in Episcopal murder-suicide
Caller: "OK, they're in the headmaster's office. I was in there in the meeting with her."
Dispatcher: "OK, do they have the gun?"
Caller: "The individual broke in, had a guitar case, pulled out what looked like an AK-47."
Dispatcher: "Has anybody been shot?"
Caller: "I don't know because I ducked out of the room. And he came in. I've been busy locking down. There's a bunch of kids outside."
Dispatcher: "Were there shots fired?"
Caller: "Shots found, around seven or eight."
Dispatcher: "Center eight?"
Caller: "Seven or eight."
Dispatcher: "What is that, a building number?"
Caller: "No, seven or eight shots fired."
Dispatcher: "OK, you don't know if anybody's been shot or not?"
Caller: "No, I do not know because I did not go back in to find out."
Dispatcher: "And this was in the headmaster's office?"
Caller: "Yes."
While this administrator was talking with the dispatcher, he was also trying to get the campus under control. He is heard telling staff to get the students to safety.
Caller: "You need to get on with those kids out there. You need to get them."
Woman: "Outside?"
Caller: "They're roaming around. I tried to gather as many as I could. Try and breathe."
At the time, no one knew that Regan was dead and that Schumerth had killed himself. They thought he was still on campus, as is described in another call from the main office.
Dispatcher: "Did he give you a description of this guy?"
Caller: "His name is Shane Schumerth. He's a younger guy, with -- he's a teacher here."
Dispatcher: "The teacher has an AK-47?"
Caller: "Yes, the teacher who was let go this morning walked in with what looked like an AK-47, and we heard shots fired. We don't know if they were real shots, we don't know if it was a real gun, but we're very scared."
From the 911 calls, it's apparent the staff tried to keep the students from going outside, but the bell rang before they could make an announcement. They wanted police to make sure the students were safe.
Caller: "I think it's more important that they can tell the kids to get inside if they're not already and to make sure she's OK. We're OK, we just don't don't -- we have it locked and we don't know where to go, what to do. I mean, we're not going to leave, but if they can make sure she's OK and the kids are OK."