One individual was killed and an officer was injured as police responded to rumors of a potential shooter at a Tennessee high school on Monday, authorities said.
At Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) east of Nashville, no one else was killed or injured, according to police. A man has been arrested. When officers arrived at the school around 3:15 p.m., they found a male with a pistol, police said, and shots were fired.
“Shots were fired as the topic approached,” Knoxville Police Department said on Facebook. “A Knoxville Police officer was shot at least once and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon told WATE-TV from outside a hospital that she spoke with the wounded officer and that he was conscious and in good spirits.
A male died at the school, which is close to the city's zoo and Interstate 40, according to the police station. The school is located in a suburban area near some churches, according to a neighborhood map.
Three students from Austin-East Magnet High School were shot and killed outside the school less than three weeks apart this year, according to police. According to an article in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, administrators said students felt secure at the arts magnet school.
“I am at a loss to express my grief as yet another horrific act of gun violence has occurred in my hometown,” state Rep. Sam McKenzie, who serves the district and attended the school, said in a statement, encouraging the community to “reclaim the sanctity of our beloved neighborhood.”
“This is the fourth senseless shooting in the Austin East community this year, and we must make every effort to ensure that these tragedies do not happen again,” McKenzie said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that agents would be sent to the school.
At a press conference, Gov. Bill Lee addressed the shooting but said he didn't know anything about it.
“I just wanted to bring it up and ask that those who are watching, whether online or not, pray for that situation and for the families and victims who might be affected in our state,” he said.
Last week, Tennessee's Republican governor signed legislation making it the latest state to allow most adults 21 and older to open or concealed carry weapons without first passing a background check and receiving training. Despite opposition from law enforcement groups, Lee voted in favor of the bill, arguing that the state's current permit system offered an effective safeguard for determining who should and shouldn't be carrying a gun.
The rule, which exempts long arms, will go into effect on July 1. Certain fines have also been increased as a result of the new measure. For example, stealing a weapon, which is currently a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days in prison, would become a felony punishable by six months in prison. People with such mental disorders and felony convictions are also exempt.
When asked earlier this year if he was concerned about the timing of recent mass shootings in Georgia, Colorado, and elsewhere, Lee responded that the increased penalties suggest that “we would, in effect, be strengthening legislation that will help deter gun crimes in the future.”
