Tennessee High School Student Killed In Shootout With Police

After a shooting incident at Austin-East Magnet High School in East Tennessee on Monday afternoon, the Knoxville Police Department confirmed that a student was killed and a police officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Based on reports, police officers ordered the student inside a restroom wherein he is hiding to come out. However, he refused to comply with the police order.

According to WSB-TV 2, David B. Rausch, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director, said in a news conference that police officers responded to the school around 3:15 p.m. after receiving a report that someone was possibly armed with a gun.

Upon arrival, Rausch said the cops located an armed student inside a restroom. But when the officers entered the restroom, the student immediately fired on them, hitting one of the officers.

The aggressive reaction of the student prompted one police officer to return fire. The student, whose identity remained undisclosed, died at the Tennessee school.

At around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, the Knoxville Police Department issued a statement that another male student was detained for further investigation. But it was not immediately clear whether the individual was the suspected gunman or just another victim in the shooting incident.

The injured officer taken into surgery after being shot in the upper leg is expected to recover after being transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Police said no other injuries were reported related to the shooting incident, according to Associated Press.

Schools in Knox County resumed in-person learning in January, but the Austin-East Magnet High School shifted back briefly to virtual instruction in February. The sudden change was due to a spate of shootings that took three students' lives less than three weeks apart. Two of the victims were 16, and the other was 15.

Tennessee Officials' Reactions

Speaking outside a medical facility during an interview, the mayor of Knoxville, Indya Kincannon, said that she was able to talk to the wounded officer, and he was conscious and in good spirits.

Kincannon, who is also a former Board President of Knox County Schools, spoke to a press conference in February regarding the gun violence that took the lives of three students from Austin-East, WVLT8 reported.

At that time, Kincannon said that a school is a safe place, and the issues with violence are happening in the community, affecting kids when they are outside of the school.

Knoxville Vice Mayor Gwen McKenzie, who visited the crime scene, sent her prayers to the family of individuals affected by the shooting incident.

Knoxville City Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas shared that all of the students who were not involved in the incident have been released to their families, and the school building has been secured. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will be leading the investigation.

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