To people who don’t know: Scott Beigel would have lived if he went into his classroom and locked the door like he was supposed to.

Risking his own life, he held the door open to save as many students as possible who were stuck in the hallway (the other teachers shut and locked their doors, as was protocol). When he was shot while trying to follow the last student inside, he fell in such a way that his body was in the doorway. The hallway had poor visibility because of all the shooting (the dry wall turned into dust when shot and filled the air) so the killer likely only saw Scott entering the classroom. Cruz didn’t bother trying to move Scott’s body to search for students inside.*

Scott’s last words as he bled out was telling the killer that there were no children in his classroom in a final desperate attempt to save their lives*.

And he did, the children he held open the door to let into his classroom survived. He chose to exchange his own life for theirs.

That is this woman’s son. ❤

Edit: (from one of the “hallway” students that Scott gave his life to save): ““Mr. Beigel was my hero and he still will forever be my hero. I will never forget the actions that he took for me and for fellow students in the classroom,” Kelsey told CNN. “I am alive today because of him. If I could see him right now ... I’d give him a huge teddy bear to say thank you. But, unfortunately, I can’t do that.””

Edit edit: I changed up the wording a tiny bit, it’s really hard to find a single consistent account of Scott’s death as eyewitness accounts vary on details, but I used info from the teacher across the hall and the students he saved. Both of these sources confirm that Scott gave his own life to save as many students as he could when he should have shut the door (which would have sacrificed the students stuck in the hall to the killer).

The other teacher said she yelled to him to close his door, as the killer was too close (before closing her own), and stated:
“We all heard a boy screaming in the hallway, “HELP! OPEN THE DOOR! HELP! LET ME IN!!!” But we couldn’t open the door. The shooter could still be on the floor. If I opened the door, I would put us all at risk. So we cringed every time we heard the screaming.”

2/17 student victims died while exposed in that same hallway. The total would have been higher if Scott hadn’t stayed with his door open to rescue every possible student. (The other teacher reports Scott physically pushing kids to safety as things got desperate).

Finally, the stories of Scott telling the killer he had no children in his classroom were from the initial reporting from the event. Those records still exist, but I’m not sure if that story was ever officially confirmed. Regardless of the result, I do not think that this minimizes Scott’s heroism.

My intention initially was to give a brief overview of Scott’s heroism so people had context, but I was getting knocked for the details so now this comment is a research paper. But I’m glad more people now know Scott’s story and that part was absolutely worth it:)

Her son gave his life saving 31 students.

my jaw DROPPED when she made that pulling straws comment. i'm so, SO glad that she was able to put into words, what everyone was already thinking. what a powerful speech.

Her words were very penetrating. Her bravery to even do that is more than remarkable. She is a strong woman and THE voice for all families whose loved ones were killed by that monster.

This momma. Her words break my heart. So sorry she has to live without her son. 😭

Her words cut like a knife. She was phenomenal. I'm in tears.

Scott, thank you for saving so many children's lives! You are the true definition of a hero. Rest in peace 🙏

Prayers for this Momma, by all accounts she raised a wonderful and loving son. 🙏❤️

How this wonderful Mother could speak without crying is beyond me. I cried for their loss through every statement. RIP all of them.

This lady raised a hero. Her speech was moving and powerful! Lord bless this mother and the victim families.

what a brilliant, well spoken woman.  My heart goes out to all the victims and their families of this horrific tragedy.  We must end this violence

I feel so sorry for this Mother. She is awesome! I love her!  What she said about all the victims shooting him was PERFECT! Thank you Your Honor, for allowing it all!

Wonderful statement. She hits the nail right on the head.

I can’t imagine what these poor families are going through having to look at the killer of their family members who has shown absolutely no remorse and a defense team who has shown nothing but disrespect. I’m glad she reminded this animal that life isn’t going to be easy and that he will have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life!

This mom is so amazing.   I love what she said.    I so badly want to give her a huge hug.  I love that fact she mentioned all of the victims names.    So beautiful.

This lady is awesome !  She has hit this nail on the head...I love her ...

As a mom i can't imagine. I'm crying for the pain of everybody in every senseless killing. Please America, wake up. Don't wait for it to happen to you until you care.

What a beautiful, eloquently spoken women, bless you ❤️

I hope the judge takes some time off for herself to replenish from such an emotionally charged and horribly difficult trial.
God bless her. 💜

I had the honor of meeting this beautiful Women last weekend at a charity run for her son, who was murdered by this animal. God bless her. She will never allow her son be forgotten, nor all the other victims of this heinous crime. May she have peace knowing that he is never going to see the light of day again.