A Blount County corrections officer was back at work just a week after a vicious attack left her bruised and bleeding.
Sheila Fortner was working Friday evening, February 19, at the juvenile facility in the Blount County courthouse when she was suddenly attacked.
Joseph Dillon French, 16, was being held in an unsecured portion of the juvenile facility when he came into the office and started hitting Fortner with the porcelain top of a toilet.
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The 64-year-old was struck multiple times and fell to the ground. When the lid broke, French beat her with his hands. Finally, as she clung to his legs in an attempt to stop him, French took her gun out of a lockbox, pointed it at her face, and pulled the trigger.
Lucikly, the sheriff said there wasn't a round in the chamber, so the gun didn't fire.
French ran out of the building and eluded authorities until his body was found Saturday morning. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In an interview with 10News anchor Mary Scott, Fortner said she had no ill will towards French for the attack, and felt sorry for him and his family.
Fortner, her face still covered with bruises, said French had been in a holding area of the facility for five days, and she'd had no trouble with him.
Since he had not been charged with a crime, the doors were not locked and he could have simply walked out of the building without attacking her.
Fortner said French's mother had visited with him earlier and mentioned he "was planning an escape." But Fortner assumed he would just walk out the door.
Moments before the attack, French asked her for permission to view a movie. She leaned over to get it for him.
“When I leaned over to get the movie for him that he could have reached for I heard him start moving around and then I looked up and saw the toilet lid," she recalled. "That’s when he started hitting me.”
She thinks he had been watching her, and knew exactly where she kept the key to the lock box that held her gun. He grabbed the pistol and pointed it at her, but there was no bullet in the chamber.
“I thought he was going to shoot me. He was holding it again and I looked up at him and said, You know you don’t have to do that. And that’s when he ran. That was the only words spoken.”
Fortner had been working at the juvenile facility since 2007. She said she wanted to return to work because she was more at ease there than at home.
"I hurt that a child lost his life," she said. "That will be always be with me. I wish he had more opportunities, he would be a different child. We did have him scheduled to get some help and that's as far as we can go.
Sheila Fortner was working Friday evening, February 19, at the juvenile facility in the Blount County courthouse when she was suddenly attacked.
Joseph Dillon French, 16, was being held in an unsecured portion of the juvenile facility when he came into the office and started hitting Fortner with the porcelain top of a toilet.
draft
The 64-year-old was struck multiple times and fell to the ground. When the lid broke, French beat her with his hands. Finally, as she clung to his legs in an attempt to stop him, French took her gun out of a lockbox, pointed it at her face, and pulled the trigger.
Lucikly, the sheriff said there wasn't a round in the chamber, so the gun didn't fire.
French ran out of the building and eluded authorities until his body was found Saturday morning. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In an interview with 10News anchor Mary Scott, Fortner said she had no ill will towards French for the attack, and felt sorry for him and his family.
Fortner, her face still covered with bruises, said French had been in a holding area of the facility for five days, and she'd had no trouble with him.
Since he had not been charged with a crime, the doors were not locked and he could have simply walked out of the building without attacking her.
Fortner said French's mother had visited with him earlier and mentioned he "was planning an escape." But Fortner assumed he would just walk out the door.
Moments before the attack, French asked her for permission to view a movie. She leaned over to get it for him.
“When I leaned over to get the movie for him that he could have reached for I heard him start moving around and then I looked up and saw the toilet lid," she recalled. "That’s when he started hitting me.”
She thinks he had been watching her, and knew exactly where she kept the key to the lock box that held her gun. He grabbed the pistol and pointed it at her, but there was no bullet in the chamber.
“I thought he was going to shoot me. He was holding it again and I looked up at him and said, You know you don’t have to do that. And that’s when he ran. That was the only words spoken.”
Fortner had been working at the juvenile facility since 2007. She said she wanted to return to work because she was more at ease there than at home.
"I hurt that a child lost his life," she said. "That will be always be with me. I wish he had more opportunities, he would be a different child. We did have him scheduled to get some help and that's as far as we can go.