When a young man with an assault rifle entered the primary school Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, near Atlanta on Tuesday, many feared another deadly school shooting was about to take place. Armed with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, the man - alleged to be 20-year-old local Michael Brandon Hill - engaged in a tense, dangerous shootout with police before eventually surrendering.

Miraculously, no one was injured in the incident, despite shots being exchanged. On the evidence of a 911 call from the scene, school clerk Antoinette Tuff is largely responsible for the peaceful outcome. Passing messages from the emergency operators to the suspected shooter, Tuff is believed to have persuaded the shooter to lay down his weapon and surrender to police.

Tuff has candidly spoken to a US television network about the incident. By calmly sharing personal stories and advice, the clerk helped convince the shooter - who, she says, had ”a look on him that he was willing to kill… he said that he didn’t have any reason to live” - that everything was “gonna be alright”.

You can listen to Tuff’s full account of events below:

(Image / Video: WSBTV Atlanta)