China Daily Global Edition (USA)
1 dead, officer hurt as shots fired at Tennessee school
One person was killed, and a police officer was wounded Monday during a shooting at a high school in Tennessee, authorities said.
Gunfire erupted after officers responded to a report of an armed person at Austin-East Magnet High School in northeast Knoxville, police said in a statement.
Police said they responded to the school around 3:15 pm when they encountered a male with a gun. It wasn’t clear if the person was a student, but when officers approached him “shots were fired”, the statement said.
The person was killed, and a Knoxville police officer was struck at least once, suffering what the department said were non-life-threatening injuries.
A second person was detained for further investigation, authorities said. The department didn’t identify anyone involved in the incident.
No one else was killed or wounded at the school in Knoxville, a city about 180 miles (290 kilometers) east of Nashville, police said.
Three students from AustinEast Magnet High School have been shot to death away from the school less than three weeks apart this year, police said. Administrators have said students felt the arts magnet school was a safe space, according to a story in the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Stanley Freeman Jr, 16, was killed on Feb 12, and 15-year-old Janaria Muhammad was killed on Feb 16. The teens died in separate shootings just blocks from Austin-East, where both were enrolled. Their deaths came after their classmate, 15-year-old Justin Taylor, died Jan 27 in an accidental shooting.
An arrest was made in the shooting of Taylor, but police haven’t identified suspects in the other teens’ killings, Police have said they don’t know if the killings are related and haven’t confirmed if any of the slain teens knew each other.
State Representative Sam McKenzie, who represents the district and went to the school, said in a statement, “I am at a loss to describe my sadness as yet another horrific act of gun violence has happened in my community.” He urged the community to “reclaim the sanctity of our beloved neighborhood”.
“This is the fourth unnecessary shooting involving the Austin East community this year, and we must make sure we take every step and make every effort to prevent these tragedies from continuing to occur,” he said.
Governor Bill Lee mentioned the shooting at a news conference but said he had little information.
Last week, the Republican governor signed legislation that will make Tennessee the latest state to allow most adults 21 and older to carry handguns — openly or concealed — without first clearing a background check and training.
Lee backed the legislation over objections from law enforcement groups, who argued that the state’s existing permit system provided an important safeguard for knowing who should or shouldn’t be carrying a gun.