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Police: One person dead, one detained after Knoxville, Tenn. high school shooting; injured officer at hospital

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Posted at 1:15 PM, Apr 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-04-12 18:09:00-04

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One person is dead, another detained, and an officer with the Knoxville, Tennessee Police Department was injured with non-life-threatening injuries after a shooting Monday afternoon at a high school in Tennessee.

Police officers responded to Austin-East Magnet High School, a high school in East Knoxville, which is about 3 hours east of Nashville, on Monday afternoon after someone reported a male subject with a gun at the school.

"Upon approach of the subject, shots were fired," a news release from the police agency said.

The officer was shot at least once and taken to the hospital, police said. A male died at the scene and a second person was detained for questioning, police said.

Authorities have not identified the officer, the person who died, nor the person who was detained.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will lead the investigation into the shooting, the police department said.

Knoxville police confirmed the shooting in a tweet shortly before 1 p.m. Arizona time and said there were multiple agencies on scene and reports of multiple gunshot victims.

"The investigation remains active at this time. Please avoid the area," the agency said in a tweet. A photo attached to that tweet showed an ambulance and a police vehicle outside the school.

Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas confirmed in a tweet that there was a shooting at the school. In a second tweet, he said, "the school building has been secured and students who were not involved in the incident have been released to their families."

A reunification site was established at the baseball fields behind the high school, the Knoxville Police Department said in another tweet.

Additional details were not immediately available.

This is a developing story, stay with ABC15.com for the latest updates.