US teacher fires handgun, students flee

A social studies teacher in the US barricaded himself inside a classroom at a Georgia high school and fired a handgun, sending students running outside or hunkering down in darkened gym locker rooms, authorities say.

No Dalton High School students were in the classroom when the teacher fired the weapon, and despite the chaotic lockdown and evacuation, the only injury was a student who hurt her ankle running away.

It wasn not immediately clear why the teacher, 53-year-old Jesse Randal Davidson, had the gun. Under questioning by detectives, he refused to discuss what led to the shooting.

The gunfire erupted with a nation on edge two weeks after a Florida school shooting left 17 students and faculty dead and ignited a new debate over gun control in America.

Within minutes of the Dalton shooting, students there took to social media, calling for restricting gun rights.

The teacher was taken into custody without incident after a 45-minute standoff with officers, police spokesman Bruce Frazier said.

A teacher since 2004, Davidson also served as the play-by-play announcer for the high school's football team.

Police noted that Davidson did not appear to want to hurt the students or faculty. He fired the gun at an exterior window when the principal tried to enter the classroom.