Principal tackles intruder.(Shannon Allen )(John Zermeno )(Brief article)

Shannon Allen is the principal of Rayburn Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas. Recently, the educator was forced to rely more on the skills she polished as a high school athlete than those mastered in her college education coursework.

On the afternoon of January 25, a man entered the school and made his way to the library. Following school procedures, school staff members directed him to the main office.

Maybe the man had leftover childhood issues about being sent to the principal's office, but for whatever reason, once there, he told Principal Allen that he had a gun. Unknown to the intruder, however, she had observed him tossing the gun into a nearby trash can. She talked to the obviously disturbed man in a calming manner, but noticed that he constantly cast glances at the trash can, as if considering whether or not to retrieve the gun.

"He didn't know I knew where the weapon was. He continually glanced over there. He got up and I tried to coerce him to sit down. That's ...