LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — A man was wounded after a gun accidentally went off as he left a graduation ceremony at Lenoir City High School on Friday night, according to Mayor Tony Aikens.
The mayor said a board member gave the man first aid in the school's parking lot. He also confirmed that the man was a family member of a graduate at the school.
Dispatchers received calls about a shooting at Lenoir City High School at around 8:45 p.m. on Friday. Aikens said there were no other reports of injuries at the school Friday night.
According to a police report, the man's Derringer pistol accidentally went off and a bullet hit him in the upper thigh. I said he was waiting for a rideshare service with his mother-in-law when he stood up to put on his jacket. She heard a small pop, and the man started bleeding before falling to the ground, according to the report.
It said police and EMS arrived and administered CPR. He was taken to the Fort Loudon Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Lenoir City High School confirmed that guns are not permitted on school grounds.
He said that the shooting was under investigation.