STUDENT KILLED AFTER SHOOTING AT POLICE IN TENN.
A student who opened fire on police officers was shot and killed during an encounter at a Tennessee high school Monday afternoon that left an officer hospitalized with serious injuries, the authorities said.
The Knoxville Police Department said the confrontation happened around 3:15 p.m. at Austin-East Magnet High School, where officers had responded to reports that a male was armed.
When officers approached the student inside a restroom, he began shooting, striking one of the officers in the upper leg, the authorities said.
The student was killed by return fire, David B. Rausch, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said at a news conference Monday night.
Investigators did not provide further details about the student or his intentions. It was not immediately clear if the wounded officer fired the shot that killed the student.
After saying earlier that one person had been detained, the authorities stated Monday night that the individual might have been a witness.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee addressed the shooting before delivering an announcement on education.
The shooting came four days after Lee, a Republican, signed a bill allowing most adults to carry a handgun without a permit, The Tennessean of Nashville reported. The law goes into effect July 1.
At the time of the shooting, Austin-East High School was still reeling from the fatal shootings of four students since January, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.