The incident happened at Rockwood Middle School. Rockwood Police Chief Danny Wright said no children were present as it was an in-service day for teachers. Wright acknowledged that the shooting should not have happened, but stressed that no one was in danger.
The weapon was fired during a drill in which police were demonstrating to teachers and administrators what a gunshot would sound like within the school. The drill required teachers to be locked in a classroom with the police chief while another officer in the hallway fired a weapon containing blanks.
Leah Watkins, Roane County Schools Superintendent, specified that no live ammunition was to be used during the demonstration.
In another recent police active-shooter education-outreach tragedy, a 73-year-old school librarian was killed in Florida when an officer involved in the teaching seminar neglected to remove live rounds from his handgun
