Houston, Jan 23 (IANS): A student was killed while another two injured during a high school shooting in Nashville, the capital city of the southern US state of Tennessee, the Metro Nashville Police Department said.

The shooter, a 17-year-old student armed with a pistol, opened fire in the cafeteria of the Antioch High School around 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday and then fatally shot himself, the police said at a news conference.

A female student was shot dead. Among the injured, a female student suffered a graze wound to the arm and is in stable condition at a hospital, and a male student was not shot but was treated for a facial injury, according to an ABC News report.

The school was put on lockdown after the shooting, Xinhua news agency reported.

Students were bused to a reunification site out of school for their shocked parents to get them back home.

"Antioch High School is on a lockdown due to shots being fired inside the school building," the school said on social media.

The school district (@MetroSchools) released a statement on X saying, "Antioch High School is on a lockdown due to shots being fired inside the school building. Metro Police are on the scene. The person responsible for shooting is no longer a threat. We will be gathering students in the auditorium and will provide information on reunification as soon as possible."

"Metro Police are on the scene. The person responsible for shooting is no longer a threat."

"This is an active crime scene and investigation. We will work with the MNPD to provide further updates as they become available," the statement added.

The Metro Schools revealed that students will be transported to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital, 3754 Murfreesboro Pike, by buses after being released from the Metro Police.

"We ask that parents go to the reunification site at Ascension Saint Thomas. Please do not come to Antioch High School. Thank you," they added.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the scene, according to WSMV 4.

A SWAT team cleared the school and an investigation is underway, authorities said.

There are nearly 2,000 students in grades nine through 12 at the school, according to its website.

In March 2023, three nine-year-olds and three adults were shot dead at The Covenant School, a private Christian elementary school in the city.