Student Killed in High School Bathroom Did Not Injure Officer

Details have slowly been released which shed light on conflicting narratives. Local coverage from Knoxville News Sentinel identified the student who was killed as Anthony J. Thompson Jr. and the wounded officer as Adam Willson, a school resource officer. The paper confirmed that police are now saying the bullet which injured Willson was not fired from Thompson’s gun. The investigation is ongoing. 

A woman named Regina Perkins said she called the police after her daughter, who had been dating Thompson for the past 9 months, told her about a fight between them. She tried to reach Thompson’s mother first, and had been texting with Thompson directly telling him that police were on their way. She also said she told officers she believed Thompson was unarmed. Officers found Thompson hiding in a school bathroom when the confrontation ensued. Perkins now says that she regrets calling the police.

Thompson’s family has hired prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has worked on cases such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and George Floyd. In a statement on Twitter, Crump said, “The world was told that Anthony shot an officer and that’s why police fatally shot him. Then, the facts revealed the only shots fired were by law enforcement and the injured police officer may have been struck by his own bullet or another officer’s bullet.” Crump asked why police did not attempt to de-escalate the situation, and said, “When a suspect is a person of color...Police shoot first and ask questions later.”

Protests erupted on April 19th at a county commision meeting over the release of police body cam footage of the incident. Seven people were arrested. Knoxville’s Mayor has also called for an immediate release of the footage. 

Officer Willson, who underwent surgery for a gunshot wound in his leg, was released from the hospital four days after the incident. He and three other officers involved have been placed on paid leave. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has not yet specified if they know which officer’s bullet struck Willson or Thompson.