18-year-old took assault rifle to TN school to ‘confront’ former teacher, cops say
A former student of a private Christian school brought an assault rifle to its football game with the goal of confronting his former teacher, officials say.
In a statement to McClatchy News, the Christian Academy of Knoxville (CAK) in Knoxville, Tennessee, said one of its former students brought a “loaded weapon” to the school’s football game on Friday, Aug. 26, and had it in his unlocked car.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that an armed 18-year-old “wasn’t in his right mind” and possibly wanted to “confront a former teacher that he had problems with,” according to the sheriff’s report. .
The school said it dealt with the situation “without incident” after immediately informing Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies on campus.
“To our knowledge, the young man never threatened anyone on the campus that evening nor was there any public incident,” the school said.
Authorities said they found an assault rifle in the front floorboard of the teen’s Ford F-150 and arrested him at the football stadium. It was loaded with 29 rounds of ammunition. He was charged with carrying a weapon on school property and driving with a suspended license, marking the second time inweeks the 18-year-old has been arrested on gun-related charges, according to WVLT.
Tennessee has the 10th highest firearm mortality rate, according to the CDC. There were more than 1,400 firearm deaths in the state that year.
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 8:19 AM with the headline "18-year-old took assault rifle to TN school to ‘confront’ former teacher, cops say."
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