Search for motive in Tenn. high school shooting

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Kenneth Bartley Jr. is shown being taken by police from St. Mary's Medical Center in LaFollette, Tenn., where he was treated for a hand injury. He allegedly shot three people earlier Tuesday at Campbell County High School. Authorities and classmates were left wondering what drove a 15-year-old to open fire at his high school, killing an assistant principal and seriously wounding the principal and another administrator. No students were hurt in Tuesday’s shooting. The 1,400-student school about 35 miles northwest of Knoxville was closed for the rest of the week, officials said. Ken Bartley Jr. was taken to a juvenile detention facility, Sheriff Ron McClellan said. Bartley’s family declined comment. “He has been in trouble before, but I just wouldn’t expect something like this out of him,” said classmate Courtney Ward, 17. “He is a big jokester. He is rowdy. But I just couldn’t see him doing this.” Authorities didn’t know whether Bartley would be charged as an adult. They said he was grazed in the hand by a bullet fired from his own .22-caliber handgun when he was subdued. “I don’t know what he was thinking or what his motives were,” McClellan said. “Investigators are piecing together ... what exactly transpired.” Assistant Principal Ken Bruce was shot in the chest and died at a LaFollette hospital, authorities said. Principal Gary Seale was shot in the lower abdomen and Assistant Principal Jim Pierce was hit in the chest. They were in serious condition in intensive care at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, spokeswoman Lisa McNeal said.