Shooting At South Dakota High School Wounds Principal

A student at a South Dakota high school shot a principal in the arm on Wednesday in his office and then was tackled by an assistant principal and restrained by an athletic director until authorities could take him into custody, officials said.

Kevin Lein, principal of Harrisburg High School south of Sioux Falls, was in stable condition and in good spirits at a hospital after being shot once in the arm, officials said.

Assistant Principal Ryan Rollinger heard the shot in the principal’s office and tackled the teenage shooter,Harrisburg School District Superintendent Jim Holbeck told reporters.

Athletic Director Joey Struwe arrived shortly afterward and the two men held the shooter down until law enforcement arrived, Holbeck said.

No other injuries were reported.

“You really never know what this student would have done if they hadn’t confronted him,” Holbeck said. “And I believe what happened there, what those guys did, probably helped save somebody else from maybe getting shot.”

Officials believe the teen, who had a handgun, acted alone, Sioux Falls police spokesman Sam Clemens told reporters. They did not identify the student, who had not been charged by midafternoon on Wednesday.

The high school was locked down after the shooting, officials said. Other local schools were put on notice, but not locked down.

The shooting was reported at 10 a.m. local time, drawing several local and federal law enforcement agencies including a bomb squad, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security, Clemens said.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago, David Bailey in Minneapolis and Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and Eric Walsh)