Three female staffers at Inglewood Elementary School in the Nashville area are being recognized as heroes for fighting back against a man who tried to force his way into the school.
Rachel Davis noticed a suspicious man hanging out by a fence near the playground.
During the initial conversation, Davis remembers speaking with the man, later identified as Onreka Gray, and telling him that if he needed assistance, he would need to go to the front office and speak with someone.
Davis said that Gray wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“As soon as the door was opened to let the kids in, he hopped the fence and started racing to come to the door,” Davis said. “I remember just grabbing him and just trying to hold on super tight, and my kids are just staring at me.”
Davis explained that’s when Gray forced his way inside. Thankfully, other staff members jumped in to help. Davis told News 2, it wasn’t until it was all over, when others told her about her heroic actions, as they watched her jump on top of Gray and fall backwards, all in an effort to make sure he didn’t get inside the school.
“I’m yelling at the kids, ‘run ya’ll, run.’ So, all the kids got in,” said Thomas.
The next member of this heroic team came at a moment’s notice. Shay Patton, the school’s bookkeeper. One day after the incident, she still has a hard time being near the playground where it all started.
“The next day, I heard the playground door from in the hallway. I heard the kids in the hallway and the door buzzed and I just like stopped, you know it’s always just like that fear,” Patton said. “I had my phone in my hand, and called Mrs. Croft, our principal, and said ‘Mrs Croft there’s a’ and then he kicked my phone or punched my phone, or something.”
For Thomas, the incident hit especially close to home, as her niece was among the children outside playing when Gray tried to force his way inside.
“If something happened to her, I just don’t know. Just even thinking about that, it’s hard still. It’s still hard to think about that, and even seeing her face afterward. I had to turn around and I just lost it,” remembered Thomas.
On Tuesday, the three women faced Gray once again inside the courtroom. Gray is facing charges including assault, resisting arrest and aggravated criminal trespassing. All three said it was difficult to see him again, but coming back to the school and the playground, it’s hard not to think about what could have happened if Gray had made his way through the school.”