A Wisconsin high school principal shot and killed by an armed student while wrestling weapons from him was among 22 people honored Thursday with Carnegie medals for heroism.
John A. Klang, 49, was a principal in Cazenovia, Wis., on Sept. 29, 2006, when Eric Hainstock, then 15, entered the school armed with a loaded shotgun and handgun. Klang confronted Hainstock and the two struggled as the teen repeatedly shot at the principal. Klang disarmed the boy, and later died at a hospital from his wounds.
Last year, Hainstock was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission meets five times annually to choose honorees, who are brought to its attention through newspaper articles or tips on its Web site. Recipients, or their survivors, receive a bronze medal and $5,000.
Other honorees include Wesley James Autrey Sr., 50, of New York, who was nicknamed “subway superman” after he rescued a man who had fallen onto train tracks from a subway platform on Jan. 2, 2007. Autrey laid on the man, who had suffered a seizure, as an oncoming train passed over both of them; Autrey’s two young daughters watched the rescue unfold from the platform.
Industrialist Andrew Carnegie started the Carnegie Hero Fund in 1904 after being inspired by rescue stories from a mine disaster that killed 181 people.
Since the fund was established, 9,173 people have received medals and $30.5 million has been awarded in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance.
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On the Net:
Carnegie Hero Fund Commission: http://www.carnegiehero.org
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