Jason Seaman, Teacher Who Stopped Indiana School Shooter: 5 Facts

NOBLESVILLE, IN — Jason Seaman, the seventh grade science teacher and football team coach at Noblesville, Indiana, who rushed an armed teenager, swatted the gun from his hand and tackled him, is being hailed as a hero for stopping a school shooting that could have injured or even killed many more.

Seaman took three bullets — in his hip, abdomen and forearm — to save the students in his classroom. He has been released from the hospital. Ella Whistler, 13, was shot multiple times by the teenager before Seaman stopped him. She remains hospitalized in Indianapolis, but is reportedly improving.

Here are five things to know about the hero teacher:

He did just what he said he would do. “I remember every time we had a code red drill in 7th grade, Mr. Seaman always told us he would take a bullet for anyone of his students and how he would do whatever he could to protect us,” Abbie Tank tweeted. “What a true hero to live up to that promise. Words can’t describe how much we love you.”

It’s just the kind of guy he is. Seaman’s brother, Jeremy, told the Indianapolis Star that he’s not surprised his brother stepped in. “He’s not really ever been the person to run away,” the teacher’s brother said. “When the safety of kids is at hand, it’s not surprising to me that he was going to do what he had to do.”

He is humbled by a GoFundMe campaign that has raised tens of thousands of dollars. Jackson Ramey, a high school student, established the crowdfunding campaign to offset Seaman’s medical expenses and any personal expenses his family may incur. More than $84,000 of the $90,000 goal had been raised by Tuesday. “His actions saved the lives of many kids that were present in his class today,” Ramey wrote Friday. “He put his life on the line for their protection.” In a news conference, Seaman said he “can’t really fathom how someone I have not personally met would do such an act of kindness and how the Noblesville community has been so generous in their response to it.”

He is a native of Illinois. Seaman attended school in the Mahomet-Seymour Community Unit School District in Champaign County, then went on to play football at Southern Illinois University, where he graduated in 2011. Mahomet-Seymour Superintendent called him “an amazing kid,” the News-Gazette reported, and a P.E. teacher in the district called him selfless. “My first reaction was, ‘He stopped it,’ ” Chad Benedict, said. “That was my assumption without even getting any of the details because that's just who he is.”

He is the married father of two. Seaman and his wife have two young children, a toddler son and a 1-month-old daughter, WKYC reported.

See Also:

Indiana School Shooting: Teacher Swatted Gun From Students Hands
SIU Alum Credited With Disarming Indiana School Shooter
Noblesville Teacher Who Rushed Gunman Released From Hospital
Noblesville Students Return to Classes

Photo via Go Fund Me, a Patch promotional partner