A teen at a Tennessee high school opened fire at officers on Monday and was killed by responding officers, police said. Officers from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation rushed to a call of a suspected shooter at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville at around 3:15 P.M. Monday, said the authorities.
Teen killed in shooting at Knoxville, Tennessee
According to the Associated Press, officers discovered him inside a bathroom and asked him to come forward, but he refused. That was when he started shooting, and police responded by firing back, as per WAND-TV. Police said a teen died at the school, and an officer was injured and had to undergo surgery at UT Medical Center. The officer is expected to survive.
As part of the probe, a person was arrested. There were no other confirmed victims, according to authorities. The names of those who were shot were not revealed.
During the shooting, the school was placed on lockdown. Students who were not involved in the incident were released and reunited with their families, said Superintendent Bob Thomas.
The baseball field behind Austin-East Magnet High School, where the shooting happened, was designated a reunification venue. According to NBC affiliate WBIR, four Knoxville teens who currently or previously attended Austin-East died in recent months due to gun violence, sparking calls for action in the city.
A police officer was injured in a Tennessee shooting
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Authorities and The Knoxville News Sentinel said a male teen was killed and a KPD cop received a non-life-threatening injury, while a second person was arrested at the scene. The terrifying incident sparked a controlled evacuation and triggered a significant emergency response in a community still on alert following a string of recent shooting deaths linked to the campus.
Just after 3:50 P.M., the Knoxville Police Department tweeted, "Multiple departments are on the scene of a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School. There have been several gunshot casualties, including a KPD officer."
The News-Sentinel announced less than an hour later, citing a source, that one suspect had been arrested and no longer an active shooter incident. According to the source, the cop who was shot was an Austin-East school resource officer.
During an ongoing investigation, the KPD sent a tweet warning people to stay away from the school's location. A photo showing a scene outside the school was also posted, and there was an ambulance and what seemed to be several police cars.
However, it did not include further information, such as how many victims were injured, their injuries, or the circumstances around the incident, New York Post reported. A family reunification site has been identified at a baseball field behind the school, according to the department's corresponding tweet.
According to The Knoxville News Sentinel, police confirmed no evidence linking the four slayings. Representatives from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' Nashville field office responded to the shooting Monday afternoon, as per their Twitter account. Gwen McKenzie, Nashville's Vice-Mayor, was among the officials who rushed to the scene on Monday afternoon.
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