ROMULUS, Mich. — The Romulus Middle School secretary who helped prevent a potential tragedy earlier this week is speaking exclusively about the terrifying encounter that unfolded when a banned parent showed up at the school with a loaded weapon.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report:
Maria Scott returned to work on Friday to a hero's welcome, with her desk covered in flowers and well-wishes from grateful students, staff, and community members.
"These just got delivered," Scott said, gesturing to the arrangements.
The word "hero" has been used frequently to describe Scott's actions, even by her own 6-year-old son.
"He was like, 'the cafeteria lady said that you're a hero, ' and I was like, yeah, we're all superheroes," Scott said with a smile.
FULL INTERVIEW: Maria Scott talks about encountering man who fired gun
But it was in fact Scott's patience and quick thinking that truly saved the day when Shawntez Gregory, a parent banned from school property, showed up Tuesday attempting to enter the building.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Man charged in shooting outside of Romulus Middle School that prompted lockdown
Scott, an experienced school secretary, had dealt with Gregory before. He was banned from school grounds when he allegedly attempted to kidnap his son from his ex-wife. His son attends Romulus Middle School.
"It was his voice in his body language, because he's never, he's always come, and he's been calm, ring the doorbell, and then they remove him immediately from school grounds, or he would just leave. Not on Tuesday," Scott said.
Gregory's tone and agitated behavior immediately put Scott on high alert.
"Instantly, he began to swear at me, and I knew something was wrong. He said, 'you're gonna give me my son'," Scott said.
When she noticed Gregory had a gun, Scott immediately went over the intercom to place the school on lockdown while simultaneously calling police. Then came the gunshots.
"Then I actually turned around and saw my boys' picture at my desk. And that for me was like, I want to make it home tonight, and I want everybody in here to make it home to their families tonight," Scott said.
According to Romulus Police, Gregory fired a total of seven rounds outside the front doors. No one was injured, and Romulus Police immediately took Gregory into custody. He now faces multiple felony charges.
RAW VIDEO: Suspect arrested outside Romulus Middle School
Scott's ability to refuse Gregory entry, act quickly, and remain calm simultaneously prevented what could have been a deadly situation.
After taking time to decompress, the full weight of what happened hit Scott and her family.
"It didn't really sink in with me and my boys until that next morning. When we're all sitting, they took the day off school, I took it off work, and it was like, Mom, you're here," Scott said.
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