PARKLAND, Fla. – The heroic teacher who saved the lives of several students during a shooting at a high school in Florida is a native Metro Detroiter, his family said.
Lee Porter, of Center Line, said his step-daughter, Andrea Kowalski-Respierski, is married to Ernie Rospierski.
Rospierski and Kowalski-Respierski teach at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a former student shot and killed 17 people on Wednesday.
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Porter said his step-son-in-law is a hero. Rospierski is from Roseville and Kowalski-Respierski is from Center Line.
"That kid was coming down the hall and saw him," Porter said. "He shot at him. He had already killed two people, I guess."
When Rospierski heard shots Wednesday, he got his class to hunker down before turning to face the gunman. He was grazed by a bullet, Porter said.
"Ernie ran up to the second floor," Porter said. "He got what kids he saw, got them safe, locked them in rooms and stuff, and hid in the bathroom. He finally heard there was no noise and felt safe, he opened the door and there was a policeman standing there. He said, 'What are you doing?'"
Porter said Rospierski told him police didn't know who was a threat and who wasn't during the chaos.
"When Ernie would come out, he had, like, 20 guns on him," Porter said.
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The couple posted Facebook messages to let loved ones in Metro Detroit know they were OK.
"He just said that, 'We're OK. We're doing OK,'" Porter said. "They're just processing everything."