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Wounded officer at Tennessee school not shot by student's gun

A 17-year-old student was killed after a struggle over his gun.
Image: Police attend a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville
Police investigate a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, Tenn., on Monday.Brianna Paciorka / News Sentinel/USA Today Network via Reuters

A Knoxville police officer wounded in a shooting at a high school where a student was killed this week is not believed to have been shot by the student's weapon, investigators said Wednesday.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said there was a struggle, and the student's gun was fired before police shot twice.

"Preliminary examinations indicate the bullet that struck the KPD officer was not fired from the student’s handgun," the TBI said in an updated statement.

That differs from an initial TBI account that said officers responded to the restroom at Austin-East Magnet High School on a report of an armed person inside, and that the student "reportedly fired shots, striking an officer."

The student who was killed was identified Wednesday as Anthony J. Thompson, Jr., 17. Knoxville police have said the officer was shot in the leg.

The TBI said that investigations uncover facts that may clarify initial reports, and said it was updating its information about the events that occurred.

Wednesday's statement does not say who shot the officer, or if one officer fired twice or if more than one officer fired. The TBI said Monday after the incident that officers entered the restroom and one officer fired.

An agency spokesperson said that because there is an active investigation into the shooting, Wednesday's statement was the extent of the information it could release at this time.