8th-Grade Math Teacher Stuns With Beautifully Unexpected Response During School Crisis

8th-grade math teacher Krista Gneiting did something few people would when gunshots rang out at her school. She used basic kindness and a hug to disarm the active shooter. And her continued compassion is inspiring so many!

School shootings have become far too common these days. And nothing can ever truly prepare you for such a horrific situation.

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But what Krista Gneiting did when a 6th-grade girl opened fire inside Rigby Middle School in Idaho is incredible.

Terror Breaks Out At Middle School

8th-grade math teacher Krista Gneiting was preparing her students for exams when gunfire rang out in the hallway. 

Krista's first thought was for the safety of her class.

"I just told my students, ‘We are going to leave, we’re going to run to the high school, you’re going to run hard, you’re not going to look back and now is the time to get up and go,'” she recalled.

But instead of running off toward safety herself, the brave 8th-grade math teacher went to see how she might help others.

In the hallway, a 6th-grade girl had pulled a handgun from her bookbag, shooting and wounding two students and the school's custodian. Krista started tending to one of the victims. And she looked up, the girl with the gun stood before her.

“It was a little girl and my brain couldn’t quite grasp that,” she said.

Krista knew she needed to end this terrible nightmare by getting a hold of the gun. But she did so in the most gentle and compassionate way.

8th-Grade Math Teacher Reacts To Active Shooter

Krista Gneiting kept her voice calm as she quietly asked the girl if she was the shooter. And what she did next took so much courage.

“I just walked up to her and I put my hand over her hand,” she recalled. “I just slowly pulled the gun out of her hand and she allowed me to. She didn’t give it to me but she didn’t fight."

At that point, Krista could have run away. But her heart broke for the troubled young girl.

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"Then after I got the gun, I just pulled her into a hug because I thought, this little girl has a mom somewhere that doesn’t realize she’s having a breakdown and she’s hurting people,” she explained.

Krista contacted the police but remained in the hallway just hugging the girl.

“I just kept hugging her and loving her and trying to let her know that we’re going to get through this together,” the math teacher said.

Eventually, the young girl opened up some to Krista. And when police arrived, the teacher remained by her side, soothing her as she was arrested. 

“I do believe that my being there helped her because she calmed down,” Krista said. 

Teacher's Compassion Is An Inspiration For Us All

God clearly put Krista Gneiting in the middle of this terrible situation for a reason. There's no telling how many lives she saved by having the courage and the heart to show such deep compassion.

And her grace didn't end with the young lady's arrest. The 8th-grade math teacher continues to support the troubled student, asking folks to offer forgiveness rather than judgment. 

“She is just barely starting in life and she just needs some help,” Krista said. “Everybody makes mistakes. I think we need to make sure we get her help and get her back into where she loves herself so that she can function in society.”

Thankfully, the three people injured in the shooting recovered and are okay. And Krista Gneiting's amazing display of compassion is the perfect example of responding with love in even the darkest moments.

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"Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn't overcome it." John 1:5

WATCH: 8th-Grade Math Teacher Speaks Out About School Shooting

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h/t: Tank's Good News

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Mel is the senior writer for GodUpdates, finding, writing and sharing Christian, uplifting, and health-related stories from around the world. Mel has a passion for writing and graduated with a degree in English from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. When she’s not researching and writing stories, Mel is very active in her church. You can usually find Mel playing board games with her husband and two young girls, giving someone a hug, or hunting down a good cup of coffee!