Tennessee Teacher Wounds Two on Snow Day
A bizarre Feb. 10 shooting case in a Knoxville school left two administrators injured, according to an Arkansas Online report.
The report shows that a 48-year-old non-tenured fourth grade teacher faces two charges of attempted first-degree murder after shooting both the principal and the assistant principal at the school shortly after students were sent home because of snow.
The defendant surrendered to police shortly after the incident, and his weapon was confiscated.
The school shooting case shows how the convergence of a workplace incident and a school related crime can converge to become a complex legal situation.
Although no students were present at the school in this case, according to witnesses, similar cases can include various charges related to the welfare of children in the care of public or private schools during the school day. Many highly publicized school-shooting cases resulted in substantial new efforts to increase security in America’s schools. The emergence of SROs or School Resource Officers is one part of a larger effort to protect students, faculty and administrators across the country.
Public officials and local law enforcement need to continue to find ways to improve security in all elementary and secondary schools as well as universities and colleges. Legal professionals need to know about federal and state criminal law as applied to institutions of learning in order to anticipate what defendants might face in any kind of school related assault case, whether the defendant is accused of using a weapon, or simply threatening students or educators.
Authorities quoted in the report did not provide a motive for the case, but did identify the prime suspect. Several staff members who were present in the school at the time of the incident are being interviewed by law enforcement. The report did not clarify whether the school in question has a police officer as a regular staffer or what security standards are in place there.
Michael Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm... Michael Monheit→