Deputy James Long is an American Deputy sheriff in the state of Florida known for apprehending and making the arrest of 2018 Forest High School shooter Sky Bouche. ^[1] Since the arrest, he has been hailed a national hero.

James Long has been a long time resident in the state of Florida and is a native of the city of Ocala. He is a graduate of Forest High School in his hometown. Long continues to be a resident of Ocala where he lives with his wife, Julie Dill Long.

After high school, he attended North Dakota State University where he graduated with a degree in Wildlife biology.

Long has been a deputy for the Marion County for a number of years.

^[1] He is also the resource officer at his former school, Forest high school.

In the morning of Friday, April 20th, 2018, a former student of Forest High School, Sky Bouche, entered the school premises with a shotgun hidden inside of a guitar case in an attempt to perform a school shooting. Once inside of the school, he took out the shotgun and fired at the bottom of a classroom door that was locked from the other side. The gunshot injured a student in the ankle.

Deputy Long heard the loud shotgun bang which occurred at around 8:39 a.m. and immediately rushed to the source of the sound.

Within minutes, Long reached the scene and caught the shooter.

He placed Bouche in custody.

The school cancelled all activities and classes for the rest of the day.

The students had planned to do a walk out pro against gun violence.