A police officer was injured in a shooting at a high school in Knoxville, Tennessee, authorities said Monday. Officials said the person who shot the officer, a student at Austin-East Magnet High School, died on the spot when police fired back.
At 3:15 pm local time, police responded to a report from a man who may have been armed at the school. David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said police found the suspect in a school toilet. The police ordered him to leave, but he refused.
Rausch said when police entered the restroom, he “reportedly fired shots and hit an officer.” An officer fired back and the student was pronounced dead on the spot. There are no other known gunfire victims, police said.
The injured officer, who has not been identified, is conscious and is expected to survive.
Students not involved in the incident were sent home, said Bob Thomas, the Knox County Schools superintendent. Prior to Monday’s violence, four students have been fatally shot this year alone.
Wade Payne / AP