Drug force officer killed in shooting

Authorities say a police officer has died in a shooting in eastern Tennessee.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that the Maryville officer was assigned to a drug task force, but Blount County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Marian O’Briant didn’t know whether he was working on a drug investigation when he was shot Thursday afternoon.

Zack Wooldridge lives nearby and said he heard multiple gunshots.

The newspaper says the officer was taken to University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, where he was pronounced dead.

The officer wasn’t immediately identified and specifics of what happened weren’t immediately available.