District attorney said officer acted in self-defense in school shooting

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    KNOXVILLE, Tennesee (WSMV) — The district attorney general in Knox County announced Wednesday that a Knoxville Police officer acted in self defense when he shot a teen inside the restroom at a Knoxville high school last week.

District Attorney General Charme Allen said it was a justified shooting and there will be no charges filed against any officer involved in the shooting.

Allen said she believed Knoxville Police Officer Jonathan Clabough acted in self-defense in the shooting of Anthony Thompson on April 12.

“It is reasonable for him to believe that Officer Baldwin was injured with the first show and reasonable that he and the other officers in the room were in danger and the potential for him to be shot as well,” Allen said during a press conference.

Clabough fired the fatal shot that struck Thompson in the restroom inside Austin-East High School on April 12.

Clabough told investigators that he saw Thompson shoot at Officer Brian Baldwin. He said he shot at Thompson when he saw the teen point the gun toward Lt. Stanley Cash. Officer Adam Willson, the school resource officer assigned to Austin-East High School, was shot by Clabough.

Allen said Clabough was the only officer to open fire in the restroom.

Allen said it took 4-1/2 minutes for the school nurse to arrive in the restroom to start rendering aid. The autopsy showed the gunshot went through Thompson’s lungs and heart. The medical examiner said it was unrecoverable.

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