When a shooter opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County on Wednesday afternoon, reports emerged — persistent but unconfirmed by authorities as of early evening — of a football coach and security guard jumping in front of students to protect them from the shooter.
Coach Aaron Feis was initially said to be dead, eliciting tributes on social media. Subsequent posts said he was wounded but had survived the shooting.
“Coach Feis has not passed. He was shot but is not dead,” Jordan May, a coach at the school and the son of head football coach Willis “Peanut” May, said on Twitter. He did not have first-hand knowledge of how Feis had been shot. As for his father, Jordan May said he was in his office during the rampage and got out unscathed.
None of those who posted on social media claimed to have seen what happened to Coach Feis.
Coach Feis has not passed. He was shot but is not dead.
— Jordan May (@Coach_JordanMay) February 14, 2018
Feis has worked as a security guard at the school for at least eight years and takes his role protecting students very seriously, said Andrew Hofmann, a former student at the school who recently coached the swimming and water polo teams.
“He’s very well dedicated to the safety of the school during the daytime,” Hofmann said.
Hofmann described the coach as “a quiet person” with a good sense of humor. “When there’s a funny joke he is always laughing for sure,” he said.
Feis graduated from Douglas High in 1999 and has worked at the school for his entire coaching career, according to his bio on the school’s website.
Be the first to comment