Katherine Finkbeiner attempted to save an indeterminate number of persons from being shot, Greenwood, South Carolina, September 26, 1988. A man armed with a handgun entered an elementary school cafeteria at lunchtime and began to fire randomly at students, teachers, and staff. As everyone else fled, one of the teachers, Mrs. Finkbeiner, 38, approached the gunman, then followed him as he left the cafeteria. When the gunman entered a restroom and reloaded his pistol, Mrs. Finkbeiner attempted to confine him there by blocking the door, but she was overpowered by the gunman, who re-entered the hall. Imploring him not to continue shooting, Mrs.Finkbeiner followed the gunman into a nearby classroom that was occupied by 21 students and their teacher. Approaching to within five feet of the gunman, Mrs. Finkbeiner attempted to persuade him not to shoot anyone else. The gunman aimed his pistol at Mrs. Finkbeiner and shot her in the mouth, then opened fire on the students and their teacher. The gunman was apprehended shortly by other school personnel then arrested by arriving police. Of the nine students shot during the incident, two died. Mrs. Finkbeiner, one of two teachers wounded, was hospitalized five days and required surgery for a fractured jaw and other injuries to her mouth.
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