VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV) - S.L. Mason Elementary students and staff are safe after police shot and killed a man with a gun who entered the school’s campus Thursday afternoon, according to the Valdosta Police Department.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the armed man on Friday as 25-year-old Tychicus Deshazer, of Valdosta.

The GBI said the incident unfolded at about 2:30 p.m. when a nearby officer, in the 1000 block of Lamar Street, heard gunshots.

“As the officer drove towards the gunshots, she observed a male with a firearm entering the campus of S.L. Mason Elementary School,” a VPD press release said.

Lamar Street is less than 0.5 miles from the elementary school, according to Google Maps.

In a video statement Friday morning, Valdosta City Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Craig

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