Philippi's police chief has been recognized for helping talk down a high schooler who held his classmates and teacher hostage and then threatened suicide.
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund announced in a press release Thursday that it selected Jeffery Walters as its Officer of the Month for October. The release stated Walters and other 2015 Officers of the Month will be honored during a May ceremony in Washington, D.C., where the nonprofit is based, as part of National Police Week.
On Aug. 25, a student at Philip Barbour High School held about 30 students and a teacher hostage in a classroom with a pistol. The teacher tried to reason with the student, and was able to keep another group of students from entering the room when classes changed, The Associated Press reported. The release states Walters and two other law enforcement officers arrived within three minutes of receiving the 911 call, and the gunman released all hostages after 30 minutes of negotiation.
"Over the course of the next two hours, Chief Walters continued to talk with the gunman," the release states. "After the gunman requested to speak with his pastor, Chief Walters and the pastor convinced the gunman to unload his pistol and surrender."
The Associated Press reported that the student was holed up in the classroom alone, pondering suicide out loud.
"If it hadn't been for Chief Walters and his training, and his discussion and dialogue with the young guy, as well as the teacher's actions, we would have probably had a big tragedy in that school," Philippi Mayor Charles Mouser said in the release.