An armed high school student was killed and a police officer was wounded in a shooting at a Tennessee school Monday.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded at around 3:15 p.m. to an officer-involved shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, the city's police department stated in a new release. According to an initial investigation, a report of a possibly armed male subject had police going to the school, and shots were fired when the subject was approached.
When the first Knoxville police officers reached the school, they found a student with a gun in a restroom, WVLT-TV reports. The officers ordered the student out of the restroom, but he refused, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Police then entered the restroom, and the student reportedly opened fire and struck one of the officers. Another officer returned fire.
The student was struck by gunfire, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. The police officer was struck in the leg and taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.
The officer was in serious condition and in surgery Monday evening, according to WVLT. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon told the news outlet that the officer was conscious and in good spirits.
There were no other reports of gunshot victims. Because it is an officer-involved shooting, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will be heading up the investigation.
Units from the Knoxville Fire Department were part of the initial response to the call, according to WVLT. According to fire officials, police officers acted as human shields to protect firefighters from possible gunfire as they worked on wounded victims.
Police have not indicated if either the victim who was killed or the one who was detained were students at the school. In an online alert, Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said the high school had been secured, and students not involved in the incident were released to their families.
Mayor Kincannon praised the high school's staff for their efforts to keep students during the incident. She also lauded the wounded officer for his work to protect the staff and students.
The investigation is currently active. Along with Knoxville police and the TBI, the Nashville office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also were assisting in the investigation, the agency stated.
