Gunfire Breaks out at the Bay County School Board meeting (UPDATED)

Gunman opens fire at School Board meeting, kills himself

Security chief hospitalized for observation after shooting gunman

PANAMA CITY — A gunman held the Bay District School Board hostage Tuesday in a videotaped drama, ultimately opening fire on them before being shot and disabled by Mike Jones, the district’s chief of safety, security and police. After being shot several times, Clay Duke, 56, turned his pistol on himself in front of the stunned group, ending his life with a shot to the head, Panama City Police officials said.

Duke, who apparently described himself as a “Freedom Fighter” on his Facebook page, was pronounced dead a short time later. Jones was not physically hurt in the incident, but was taken to a local hospital for observation Tuesday night.

No one else was shot or injured in the incident, even though Duke fired at Superintendent Bill Husfelt at point-blank range and Jones fired at Duke several times.

To see photos from the incident in Panama City click here.

Hostages

The standoff began a little after 2 p.m. Tuesday as a routine School Board meeting was winding down. Duke was in the back of the room, where he had been waiting throughout the meeting.

When the discussion turned toward technology, Duke went to the podium, said something in a mumble and then took out a can of red spray-paint. Duke painted a circle on the wall behind him and then a “V” inside the circle. Husfelt said later he originally thought Duke just was not a fan of the district’s computers.

Then Duke pulled out his gun, which Panama City Police Chief John Van Etten described as a small-caliber pistol.

“You said a pistol,” Husfelt said to Van Etten during a joint news conference shortly after the shooting. “It looked like a shotgun when it was pointed at me.”

The meeting was being streamed live over the district’s website, and members of the public along with employees who were in the building watched the events unfold before them. Local television reporters were able to turn their cameras on and capture the standoff. News Herald reporter Daniel Carson was also inside for a time and then able to observe what happened while standing just outside the board room.

Click to read Carson's first-person account »

Duke told the people at the meeting they could leave; he only wanted the male board members to stay. School Board member Ginger Littleton left through the back entrance and Duke walked up the dais. Seeing an opening, Littleton turned around, crept up behind Duke and hit him with her purse.

Littleton later said she was trying to stop what she felt was the inevitable conclusion.

“It could have been a real bloodbath,” she said. “Talk about fish in a barrel. There was no place for those guys to go. There was just no way they could have gone anywhere if he had decided to take them out at that point.”

She said the gun seemed as big as a cannon, but she felt she could not leave the other board members behind.

“To me, it was either go for it now or live with the consequences, and I couldn’t live with the consequences,” she said.

Littleton had a big purse that her mother-in-law had given her. It was heavy, she said, but it was not enough. She struck Duke, but he knocked her to the ground.

“You stupid bitch,” he said.

“Quite frankly, at that point, in the back of my mind, I thought, ‘You know, you’re probably right,’ ” Littleton said later.

Then, Duke pointed his gun “directly at my brain,” Littleton said. “And he didn’t choose to do that to me. … I’m sure when I wake up tomorrow I’ll be a sadder but a wiser person.”

Eventually, Littleton left the room uninjured.

After most people had fled for their own safety, one man entered the room — Jones, a retired Panama City police officer who is known locally as Salvage Santa. For nearly 30 years Jones has repaired old bicycles and collected toys to give to needy children at Christmas. Jones’ office is in the building, but he had not been at the meeting.

As he was holding a gun, Duke talked about how his wife had been fired by the school system. But Husfelt and the members of the board told Duke they did not remember his wife or why she had been fired.

“I was trying to get him to explain,” Husfelt said. “I really didn’t know what he was talking about.”

Board member Jerry Register promised Duke that he would get the woman a job. Ultimately, Husfelt tried to bargain with Duke to let the other board members go by pointing out that he was the one who signed the termination papers.

“Let them go. I’m the one that did it,” Husfelt said. “I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

A witness nearby, who was standing outside during the shooting, said Husfelt also talked about his wife and children. But Duke raised his gun and pointed it at Husfelt.

“Please don’t,” Husfelt said. “Please don’t. Please …”

Then Duke fired several shots directly at Husfelt.

“I thought I was shot,” Husfelt said. “I’m fine until I start thinking about my children, and then I lose it.”

Husfelt said he thought Duke was shooting blanks. However, investigators on the scene said there were no blanks in the gun; it was loaded with live ammo.

Duke was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Jones was not physically injured in the incident, but he also was taken to a local hospital, where he is being kept overnight for observation, officials said.

“Mike Jones is the hero in this,” Husfelt said. “He earned every cent he’s ever made today.”

A circle with a V

This was not the first time Duke fired a gun at someone.

Ben Bollinger represented Duke when he was convicted in 1999 of shooting into a vehicle, aggravated stalking and wearing a bulletproof vest. Duke was sentenced to five years in prison on each count and his sentences were served concurrently. As part of a plea agreement, Duke was required to complete psychological counseling.

Bollinger said Tuesday that Duke was waiting in the woods for his wife with a rifle, wearing a mask and a bulletproof vest. She confronted him and then tried to leave in a vehicle, and Duke shot the tires of the vehicle.

“The guy was like, just out there,” Bollinger said. “He had some bad problems.”

In January 2009, Duke wrote a letter to Circuit Judge Dedee Costello, stating he had come before her in 1999 and 2000, “as a mentally ill man who had committed crimes. … While in prison I was diagnosed as ‘adult-onset bipolar condition’ and given proper therapy. With that therapy and good behavior, I was released from prison after serving 85 percent of my sentence.”

He went on to ask Costello to terminate his probation early.

The symbol Duke painted on the wall of the board meeting room, a circle with a V inside it, was used in writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd’s graphic novel “V for Vendetta,” in the 2006 movie of the same title — and on Duke’s Facebook page. The main characters in the novel are freedom fighters in a dystopian future England.

Duke’s Facebook page, which he apparently created Dec. 7, also includes his photograph and a quote from billionaire Warren Buffett. “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class that’s making war and we’re winning,” Buffett told The New York Times in 2006.

Duke also quotes Percy Bysshe Shelley and states that a quote from “A Few Good Men” is his favorite.

“You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” the Facebook post says, quoting actor Jack Nicholson.

On the page, Duke describes himself as a “Freedom Fighter.”

“My testament: Some people (the government sponsored media) will say I was evil, a monster (V) … no … I was just born poor in a country where the Wealthy manipulate, use, abuse, and economically enslave 95% of the population. Rick (sic) Republicans, Rich Democrats … same-same … rich …”

The aftermath

If Duke had pulled out the gun 30 minutes earlier, the board room would have been filled with students, faculty members and other bystanders, several board members said. Board meetings often begin with awards and special recognition to students, but they and their parents usually leave when the meeting turns to regular business.

Littleton said she does not want to return to the board room until a metal detector is installed.

“I don’t think that any of us has been able to come to grips with what has happened. Looking down the barrel of a gun … it is a life-changing experience.”

Husfelt also described it as life-changing for him and his staff.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever gone through anything as surreal as this,” he said. “This was a no-win situation.”

Husfelt said he was not sure what the answer would be as far as security for board meetings, but he did feel something needed to be done.

“We don’t want to make it an armory, but obviously we don’t want to go through that again,” he said.

Despite the emotional trauma, the board will get through this experience, Littleton predicted.

“One minute, one hour at a time, we’ll work through this,” she said.

Husfelt even had kind words for the family of the man who shot at him.

“My heart goes out to his family,” he said. “He had made up his mind that he was going to die today.”

News Herald reporters Chris Olwell, Chris Segal and Daniel Carson contributed to this report.

Below is an earlier version of this story:

PANAMA CITY — The gunman sat at the back of the Bay District School Board meeting, waiting.

As the meeting began to wrap up, Clay Duke, 56, went to the podium and said something in a mumble. Then he took out a can of red spray paint and painted a circle with a "V" inside it. The subject at the time was technology and Superintendent Bill Husfelt originally thought Duke just was not a fan of the district’s computers.

Then Duke pulled out a gun.

Panama City Police Chief John Van Etten described it as a small caliber handgun.

“You said a pistol,” Husfelt said to Van Etten during a joint news conference shortly after the shooting. “It looked like a shotgun when it was pointed at me.”

The meeting was being streamed live over the district’s website and members of the public along with employees who were in the building watched the events unfold before them. Local television reporters were able to turn their cameras on and capture the horrific scene. News Herald reporter Daniel Carson was also inside for a time and then able to observe what happened while standing just outside the room.

Duke told the people at the meeting that they could leave. He only wanted the male board members to stay. School Board Member Ginger Littleton crept up behind him and hit him with her purse, and he struck her, knocking her to the ground. Eventually, Littleton left the room with almost everyone else. She was not seriously hurt in the incident.

After most people had fled for their own safety, one man entered the room: Mike Jones, chief of safety, security and police for Bay District Schools. Jones’ office is in the building.

Duke talked about how his wife had been fired by the school system. But Husfelt and the members of the board told Duke they did not remember his wife or why she had been fired. Board member Jerry Register promised to get her a job. Ultimately, Husfelt tried to bargain with Duke to let the other board members go, pointing out that he was the one who signed the termination papers.

“Let them go. I’m the one that did it,” Husfelt said. “I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

A witness nearby, who was standing outside during the shooting, said Husfelt also talked about his wife and children. But Duke raised his gun and pointed it at Husfelt.

“Please don’t,” Husfelt said. “Please don’t.”

Then Duke fired several shots directly at Husfelt. Husfelt said later that he thought they were blanks. However, investigators on scene said there were plenty of real bullets in the gun.

Deputy Chief Robert Colbert said Duke’s bullets struck the podium. Husfelt and the other board members dived for cover and Mike Jones fired at Duke, striking him several times in the torso. While Duke was on the ground, he grabbed his weapon and shot himself in the head, Colbert said.

Duke was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Jones was not physically injured in the incident but he was also taken to a local hospital where he is being kept overnight for observation, officials said.

In January 2000, Duke was 44 when he pleaded no contest to charges of aggravated stalking, shooting into an occupied vehicle and wearing a mask and bulletproof vest while committing an offense. Circuit Judge Dedee Costello adjudicated him guilty of the charges and sentenced him to five years in prison.

After six months of stalking a former girlfriend, Duke confronted the woman outside her home on Oct. 20, 1999. He was wearing the mask and vest and holding two .22 caliber guns. He threatened to kill her, then kill several others and then himself. When the woman tried to drive away, Duke shot out a rear tire.

As a condition of the plea agreement, Duke had to forfeit all the firearms seized upon his arrest. He was ordered to serve 10 years probation after his release from prison.