She is known as Mrs V among the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that was the scene of the latest mass shooting in the US, and saw 17 victims- including students and teachers- lose their lives.
Shanthi Vishwanathan is being hailed a hero for her actions to protect her students during the shooting incident.
Mrs Vishwanathan knew something wasn’t right when a fire alarm sounded the second time just before her algebra class was to end on Wednesday. This prompted her to cover all the windows of the room and got all her students to get on the floor in a corner.
She also locked the door and did not allow anyone to enter the room. When the SWAT teams knocked, she did not open the door, suspecting it could be a ploy by the gunman and the SWAT members entered through the windows to evacuate the students.
Mrs Vishwanathan has been praised for her quick thinking and possibly saving many lives.
“She was quick on her feet. She used her knowledge. She saved a lot of kids,” said Dawn Jarboe, whose son was in the class told the Orlando Sentinel.
Viswanathan has been rated well by her students over the years on the Rate My Teachers website, with many giving her four or five stars.
“Mrs Viswanathan is a wonderful teacher who allowed me to expand my learning platform. She taught me with an appreciation of math in the real world. She cares about students and often stays after school to help her students with review sessions,” one student wrote. “She never spends a day without teaching and always reassures every student understands the lesson. She wants every student to succeed and always tries the hardest to make sure we all do well.”
A former student of the school, Nikolas de Jesus Cruz, 19, was identified as the shooter who used a high-powered rifle in the shooting has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
