Teacher accused of shooting two principals at Tennessee elementary school

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --

Knox County superintendent Jim McIntyre now confirms the school district did not intend to rehire Mark Foster, the teacher accused of shooting two principals at a Knoxville elementary school Wednesday.

At this point, there's no official confirmation that Foster's pending dismissal was a motive for the shooting.

The school system had been investigating Foster after an anonymous e-mail warning of his behavior was sent to school administrators, nearly three months before he opened fire.

The e-mail described Foster as a "ticking time bomb" and said he was "a very dangerous person just waiting to go off."

The fourth-grade teacher was taken away in handcuffs Wednesday, charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Police said Foster shot Inskip Elementary School Principal Elisa Luna, the daughter of former state Sen. Jerry Cooper, and Assistant Principal Amy Brace.

Luna was listed in critical condition Thursday morning. Brace was listed in stable condition.

According to police, someone walked into the front office area of the school around 12:50 p.m. and opened fire, hitting Luna and Brace.

Students had been dismissed about an hour earlier due to winter weather. Classes at Inskip Elementary School were canceled for the rest of the week.

Investigators confirm a history of complaints against Foster, including an order of protection taken out against him and his brother.

Foster’s former boss told police that years ago Foster made an attempt on his life after he had been laid off from an engineering company in Oak Ridge.

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