A Fort William woman has been recognised for her brave actions after a man entered the local library with what appeared to be a handgun.
Sandra MacLean, who worked as a library supervisor at the time, calmly and discreetly ensured the building was cleared of members of the public and staff after the man placed the weapon in front of a member of staff.
She then re-entered the library by herself after police had been contacted to check the man remained sitting where he had been last seen working on a computer in order to check nobody else remained within the building before leaving through the rear door.
The 63-year-old then left the relative safety of the rear car park and went to front of the building where she locked the front doors, ensuring that nobody could enter and just as importantly that the man could not leave that way either.
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She was also able to provide a detailed description of the man’s appearance to police officers who arrived to take control of the situation.
The man, then aged 26, was subsequently jailed for 18 months in connection with the incident which happened on May 25, 2017. The handgun proved to be a replica.
Sandra said: “I am very grateful to Police Scotland for the award. In many ways I don’t feel like I deserve an award but that in no diminishes my gratitude for it.
“What I did at the time didn’t feel especially brave, it simply the obvious thing to do to make sure the library was clear of people and that nobody else could get in.
“Receiving the award put that whole day into perspective with the wider police investigation and I would certainly like to thank the officers for how they handled the situation when they arrived.”
She was presented with her Police Public Bravery Award earlier this week by Highlands and Islands divisional commander Chief Superintendent George Macdonald.
He said: “Sandra’s calm and professional response to an undeniably frightening situation helped ensure the immediate safety of the public and her staff.
“Her initial actions also prevented the incident from escalating and allowed police to bring the situation to a swift conclusion on arrival without creating any wider risk to the public.
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“She deserves a lot of credit for her response and I was delighted to present her with this award to recognise the bravery of her actions.”
