being with us. i'm vinita nair. >> i'm rob nelson. the wisconsin teacher being hailed now as a hero for keeping her class safe during that harrowing hostage ordeal is releasing a statement later this morning. >> all of her students survived except for the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. chris bury has more now from marinette, wisconsin. >> reporter: this blue-collar, ship-building town struggled to understand. knowing if not for the efforts a brave teacher things could have been so much worse. >> she saved the lives of many students by her calm demeanor. >> the kids were great. i'm glad they made it safe. >> reporter: valerie burd, a ten-year veteran, kept her cool when 15-year-old sam hengel, one of her students, left western civilization class only to return with a .22 caliber semiautomatic and a 9 millimeter pistol.