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President calls bookkeeper who talked down McNair gunman

Information from the AP was used in this report

The heroics of the bookkeeper who talked down the gunman at McNair Discovery Learning Academy has made its way to the White House.

While Antoinette Tuff was preparing to be interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper, the President called.

“It was awesome,” Tuff told Cooper. “I was like, ‘President Obama it’s really you.’ When you really here the voice you know it’s the President. It’s the best voice I could ever hear.”

The White House says Mr. Obama spoke with Tuff on Thursday while in New York, where he is on an education-focused bus trip.

The White House says the president praised Tuff for the courage she displayed earlier this week while talking to a gunman who entered the school where she works.

But Tuff is downplaying any talk that she is a hero.

"Nothing I did was special. I felt like I helped someone in need," Tuff said, "that God was able to use me and it was honor to be used. I felt like I was in the right place. God needed me to be there to be the vessel for Him."

Tuff has received praise across the country for her composure while she was on the phone with 911 dispatcher Kendra McCray. Tuff is heard trying to calm suspect Michael Brandon Hill and eventually talking him into giving up.

Tuff and McCray met for the first time on Cooper's show. They hugged and Tuff said, "We made it."

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