Indiana High School Student Shot By Deputy Whose Gun Went Off During Drill

An Indiana high school student was shot and injured on Thursday. According to the authorities, students were undergoing law enforcement training when the deputy accidentally discharged his gun. Only minor wounds were sustained, NBC Chicago reports.

After the gunshot at around 9:30 a.m. EST, the injured South Vermillion High School student was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening wounds, the school district wrote on Facebook.

The town of Clinton, Indiana, where the school is located, is situated on the state line between Indiana and Illinois, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Indianapolis.

South Vermillion Community School Corp. Superintendent Dave Chapman reported that a student was grazed by gunfire. The senior at the high school had described his suffering as a “sting,” he said, quoting a male student,  WTWO-TV reports.

“During the course of instruction today, they were going through some drills, and during the course of that drill, the deputy’s service revolver accidentally was discharged, hitting one of our students,” Chapman explained.

Deputy Tim DisPennett, a 19-year veteran of the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department, has been placed on administrative leave by the Indiana State Police as they investigate the shooting.

The weapon was identified as the deputy’s service weapon by Sergeant Matt Ames of the state police.

According to Ames, the state police will be conducting interviews with the deputy and the students who were present during the incident.

When that probe is finished, the evidence will be given to the Vermillion County Prosecutor’s Office “for evaluation.”