Mother who stopped Kentucky school attack appears on ‘The Ellen Show.’ Trooper surprises her
A New Jersey mother whose call to police helped stop an alleged Kentucky school shooter in his driveway appeared on “The Ellen Show” Tuesday in a segment that will air Tuesday afternoon.
Koeberle Bull contacted police earlier this month when she received a racially-motivated threatening message from Dylan Jarrell, a 20-year-old man who police later determined had a “detailed plan of attack” on Shelby and Anderson county schools. Police caught Jarrell backing out of his Anderson County driveway with the tools necessary to commit a school shooting, according to court records.
Bull appeared on “The Ellen Show,” where host Ellen DeGeneres said her story is “social media gone right.”
Bull told DeGeneres her first instinct was to protect her three children when Jarrell made his racist remarks. She contacted New Jersey police and Kentucky State Police when she found out Jarrell lived in Lawrenceburg.
The mother told NBC News “it was that mama bear instinct” to call police.
“When you see something, you say something. I was going to do everything to protect (my children),” Bull said on “The Ellen Show.”
She spoke on the phone with Josh Satterly, a Kentucky State Police trooper who she said praised.
“For a lack of a better word, he took it like he was investigating a threat on his own children. And that’s what I needed. I needed a dad,” she told DeGeneres.
Following an investigation from Satterly and FBI authorities, Jarrell was caught leaving his home, which is near Anderson County High School.
State police found “a firearm, over 200 rounds of ammunition, a Kevlar vest, a 100-round high capacity magazine, and a detailed plan of attack,” according to a news release from police. He also had “internet search history of how to conduct a school shooting was discovered,” Sgt. Joshua Lawson said.
DeGeneres surprised Bull and her children with a special appearance from the trooper. Satterly hugged the crying family he met in person for the first time.
Satterly told DeGeneres he has a 2-year-old child himself and said there was no room for hate in the world.
“I called Koeberle and I could tell in her voice that she was very disturbed. I saw her Facebook with her three beautiful kids and I thought I owed it to her to help her,” Trooper Satterly said.
Satterly, on behalf of state police, thanked Bull for making the phone call. “You’re a hero in a lot of people’s eyes,” he said. He also invited Bull to Anderson County’s annual Christmas parade at the end of November.
“She’s not just the people in Kentucky’s hero, but also our hero,” said Bull’s son Isaiah, 8.
The surprises didn’t end with Satterly’s appearance and Bull’s invitation to Anderson County. DeGeneres then gifted the family with a 1-week trip in Fiji to “relax, take a vacation and just chill.”
Bull’s appearance on “The Ellen Show” will air at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Viewers can also watch it in advance on Ellen Tube.
This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 10:07 AM.