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Officer Wounded At Tennessee High School Was Not Shot By Student, Officials Say

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A police officer wounded in a shooting at a Knoxville, Tennessee, high school Monday was not believed to have been shot by the armed student, authorities said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), which is leading the case, said that there was a struggle and the student’s gun shot once before police fired twice in return, the TBI said in a statement Wednesday.

“Preliminary examinations indicate the bullet that struck the KPD officer was not fired from the student’s handgun,” according to the statement.

Authorities originally responded to Austin-East Magnet High School after reports of a possible armed person surfaced, and the TBI originally said that the student “reportedly fired shots, striking an officer.”

“TBI’s findings will be shared with the District Attorney General throughout the investigative process, which remains active and ongoing,” the statement said.

As the investigation continues, and as TBI agents learn more about the set of events that unfolded at Austin-East Magnet High School Monday afternoon, the Bureau would like to update the set of events as we understand them at this time.

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— Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) April 14, 2021

The student was killed after encountering police, and has been identified as Anthony J. Thompson, Jr., 17. The officer was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The TBI did not say who shot the officer, or which officers fired the two shots when engaged with the armed student, though it did say that officers entered the restroom where Thompson was located.

Thompson was the only fatality in Monday’s shooting, and the injured officer was the only other casualty.