Knoxville police officer injured in Monday’s school shooting has Whatcom County ties
The Knoxville Police Department officer who was shot and injured during a deadly incident Monday at a Tennessee high school has Whatcom County ties.
Officer Adam Willson’s personnel file lists him as being from Bellingham, Knoxville Police Department Public Information Officer Scott Erland told The Bellingham Herald in an email Wednesday, April 14.
A tip received by The Herald said Willson graduated from Ferndale High School in the early 1990s and that he still has family in the area. The Ferndale School District would not confirm what year Willson graduated, but oldfriends.com lists Willson as a member of Ferndale High’s Class of 1992.
Willson was a 20-year veteran of the department and was currently serving as the school resource officer at Austin-East Magnet High School, according to a Facebook post by the department.
“The latest on Officer Willson is that he is continuing to recover from surgery at the UT (University of Tennessee) Medical Center,” Erland wrote Wednesday. “He is in good spirits and expected to recover.”
Willson was wounded after a student, possibly armed with a gun, was located inside a restroom at Austin-East Magnet High School on Monday, April 12, according to an amended statement by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Wednesday.
Officers entered the restroom and during a struggle the student’s gun was fired, according to the amended statement. Law enforcement fired twice, according to the report.
“Preliminary examinations indicate the bullet that struck the KPD officer was not fired from the student’s handgun,” the statement read.
Willson was shot in the upper leg, the department said on Twitter. No other officers were hurt in the incident, but the student was pronounced dead at the scene. The school was closed Tuesday and Wednesday as a state police investigation unfolds.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that the department has placed four officers, including Wilson, on administrative leave per department policy.
It wasn’t yet clear why the student brought a gun to school.
“We are grateful for the well wishes,” Knoxville police said in the Facebook post identifying Willson.
Actor Anthony Velvet Hall posted on Facebook Tuesday that he worked with Willson on an episode of “Murder Chose Me,” a TV crime series set in Shreveport, Louisiana.
“Wishing you a speedy recovery, bro,” Hall wrote, adding #backtheblue and including a photo of the two standing next to each other.
This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
