Georgia Teacher With Gun Had Other Firearms Confiscated

The teacher who fired three shots in his barricaded classroom in Dalton, Georgia, on Wednesday had three rifles confiscated from him two years ago after he set his family’s car on fire. Jesse Randal Davidson was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation after police took the rifles for “safe-keeping” after he torched the car in August 2016. Davidson’s adult son reportedly told police that he was “was not acting like himself and was sitting down with a rifle in the backyard watching the vehicle on fire.” The sheriff’s report also describes that he was “hospitalized at least three times in recent years,” as people were concerned about his “state of mind.” In another incident, Davidson went to police headquarters to report a murder that could not be verified, and police took him to the hospital after he “expressed thoughts of hurting himself.” Dalton Principal Steve Bartoo said “as far as I know he was fit to be at work,” and a spokeswoman for the school said it does not “allow anyone in a classroom unless they are capable of doing their job and fit for their position.”