Student suspect killed in US school shooting

KNOXVILLE (Tennessee) • Police shot and killed a high school student after they said he opened fire on them in a school bathroom, wounding an officer.

The gunfire, which erupted at about 3.15pm on Monday at Austin-East Magnet High School on the east side of Knoxville, marked the latest in a rash of shootings in the United States since the middle of last month.

The wounded police officer was struck by a round in the upper leg and was in serious condition following surgery at the University of Tennessee Medical Centre, Knoxville police officials said.

He was expected to survive.

Knoxville police said they responded to Austin-East after getting reports of a gunman at the school and found the suspect in a bathroom.

"As officers entered the space, the suspect reportedly fired shots, striking an officer.

"The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene and has since been identified as a student at Austin-East," Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director David Rausch told a news conference.

Knoxville police chief Eve Thomas, speaking at the same news conference, called the incident "chilling".

Police had initially reported multiple gunshot victims in the attack.

Austin-East was locked down following the gunfire and parents who rushed to the scene were directed to pick up their children at a rear entrance.

Police later established a reunion site for students and their parents at a baseball field.

A mother who had been separated from her daughter was waiting near the school and told reporters she was greatly relieved to receive a text message from the girl that she was safe.

Agents from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the investigation, the bureau's Nashville office said on Twitter.

The Austin-East community has been shaken by gun violence this year.

Four other students at the school were killed in recent months in shootings in the city, according to media reports.

REUTERS