A report coming out of Illinois states that a would-be school shooter — a former student at Dixon High School — was stopped in his tracks by an armed school resource officer, who shot the perpetrator in the shoulder and likely saved countless lives.

A 19-year-old former Dixon High student is in custody with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the shoulder after bringing a gun to the school this morning.

The man shot at school resource officer Mark Dallas, who returned fire around 8 a.m., Sheriff John Simonton said.

The shooting happened in the gym, where seniors, whose last day of school was Friday, were gathered for graduation practice, City Administrator Danny Langloss said.

The officer was not injured, nor was anyone else, Langloss said.

Dixon Police believe that the suspect acted alone and that there is no further threat to the safety of students or staff.

“We’re lucky the officer was there. His brave actions saved a lot of lives,” said Langloss, whose daughter was among the seniors in the gym.

This brings to mind, of course, the shooting at a high school in Broward County, Fla. in February, also perpetrated by a former student, in which the school resource officer failed to engage the shooter or enter the school after the massacre began.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office spent months trying to defend themselves in the aftermath of the shooting, where 17 people died. And they had more to answer for than simply a resource officer apparently trained not to protect students: turns out, they were possibly culpable in the circumstances that allowed the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, the freedom to carry out the shooting in the first place.

The PROMISE program was aimed at reducing recidivism rates for students who commit non-violent misdemeanors and keeping them out of the juvenile justice system. The program helps students develop pro-social and resiliency skills, improve academics and may address family and community struggles that may be contributing to behavior issues, according to the school district’s website.

School officials said the program can last for as little as two days. Each case varies.

According to the Sun Sentinel, the school system’s lenient discipline was an added public-relations benefit to showcase lower suspensions, expulsions and arrests along with rising graduation rates.

Pay attention Broward Sheriff’s officers and Broward School System: Dixon High School’s quick-thinking resource officer is how you protect and serve students.