Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Knoxville Police arrested a Knox County student at West High School Tuesday, May 14. The student is facing charges for having a stolen handgun on campus.

Following the student being taken into custody, KPD said West High received a call about a possible threat and out of an abundance of caution, the school was put on hard lockdown.

KPD officers and School Security Officers investigated the threat, finding no evidence to suggest the threat was credible. The lockdown was lifted around 2:15 p.m.

Another Knox County school, Vine Middle, was also placed on lockdown Tuesday for a potential threat.

Nashville, TN (WOKI / WVLT) Tennessee’s Attorney General is leading 18 states in a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over new sexual harassment guidance.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed the suit on Monday against the EEOC’s new guidance that he says “unlawfully extends Title VII’s protections against sex-based discrimination to cover gender identity.”

Skrmetti alleges that under the new guidelines, an employer may be liable under Title VII if they or another employee uses a name or pronoun that doesn’t coincide with an employee’s preferred gender identity among other stipulations.

“Additionally, under the EEOC’s guidance, an employer can be liable if it limits access to a bathroom or other sex-segregated facility, such as a shower or locker room, based on biological sex and not on gender identity. Employers also may be liable if a customer or other non-employee fails to use an employee’s preferred pronouns or refuses to share a restroom with someone of the opposite sex,” the AG said.

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia, are also involved in the suit.

Knoxville, TN (WOKI / WVLT) American Medical Response presented its first progress report to the Knox County Commission Monday night.

The report comes after a new contract promised to fix serious problems with the ambulance service.

The company’s regional manager said since the new contract was awarded in November, the company has added 62 new employees and increased wages.

“That contract was awarded in November, so that really gave us the opportunity to start ramping up staffing as quickly as possible. Now that process takes about two months to get them through the entire process,” said AMR Regional Manager Josh Spencer.

Spencer says the move has also helped with response times, but not everyone sees it that way. One Knox County father told commissioners during the meeting his son was having seizures, and he had to drive his son to the hospital when an ambulance didn’t show up.

“My son could’ve died, and to me that’s unacceptable. What happens the next time I call for an ambulance?” he said.

The commission said it was a miscommunication and that it has been handled.

AMR said it is responding to calls on time at least 72% of the time, and that that number continues to climb each month.

Kingston, TN (WOKI) A man is facing numerous charges after a string of car burglaries earlier this month in Kingston.

Kingston Police Department officials say 20-year-old Jeremiah Noah has been arrested in connection to burglarizing eight different cars on May 3 in the area of First Street, Roane Street, and Spencer Street.

KPD says several items were taken from the cars, including money and firearms.

According to KPD, Noah was arrested on May 9 by the Lenoir City Police Department on several unrelated charges, and after further investigation, was charged with eight counts of burglary and eight counts of theft of property for the burglaries of the vehicles.

The investigation remains active and ongoing, and KPD is asking anyone with information to contact the department at 865-354-8045.

TN (WOKI) An East Tennessee couple at the center of a child abuse and murder investigation is due in court this week, possibly putting an end to their case according to District Attorney Russell Johnson.

Michael Anthony Gray and Shirley Ann Gray’s case has been moving through the Roane and Knox County court systems for years after an investigation into their treatment of their children was prompted in 2020.

The couple has four open cases in both Knox and Roane counties; all of which could be resolved as soon as Tuesday. The Knox County case is centered on Michael and Shirley Gray and Michael Gray, Jr. who are accused of murdering an adopted child found buried at their home in Halls. The parents also face murder charges in the death of another adopted child whose remains were found in Roane County.

The Grays waived their venue option allowing Roane County Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks to handle both the Knox and Roane County portions of the case during a hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. in the Roane County Courthouse.