ST. LOUIS – Exactly two years ago, on Oct. 24, 2022, hundreds of students were rushing out of Central Visual and Performing Arts School as an active shooter was inside with a semi-automatic rifle.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Major Mike Mueller was attending a nearby funeral and had already responded.
“I arrived on the north side of the school, actually where the shooter had left his car. I didn’t know it at the time,” Mueller said in his first television interview. “I thought I might have been at the wrong school, actually, so then I go around to the south side of the school, and that’s where I see all the security guards running out.”
As he anticipated a funeral, Mueller didn’t have any uniform or belt with him. But he found his vest and was joined by two other officers going inside.
The 19-year-old shooter killed sophomore Alexzandria Bell and teacher Jean Kuczka and was armed with enough ammunition to kill dozens more.
“For some reason all the lights were off in the school, and there was a loud (noise). They had the fire alarm going off too, so we couldn’t even hear each other. We’re trying to get on the air. It was very chaotic,” Mueller added.
They followed the sound of shots. Mueller was now joined by seven other officers. They stopped the threat.
“The courage the officer exhibited… they ran into the school willing to put their lives on the line, didn’t even think twice. The officers just, you know, some officers had to swing traffic, some helped the students out, and everyone just clicked. No one needed to be told, ‘Hey, you go in there.’ They just reacted.”
Mueller credits active shooter training that he said officers had one week before this tragedy. Instead of everyone having a different idea of what to do, they all simply acted the way they knew they had to.