Security Officer Killed During Halloween Night Patrol at H.S.

A security guard patrolling a high school to prevent Halloween vandalism was shot and killed in the parking lot, and a man who took police on a chase in the guard's stolen cruiser is a suspect.

The shooting occurred Tuesday night, shortly after the guard reported to dispatchers that he was checking on a vehicle with Virginia plates in the parking lot and a man there appeared to be intoxicated, Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison said.

The guard, Russell B. Kocur, 39, then told dispatchers he had been shot, and officers arrived to find him on the ground with a gunshot wound in the back. He died in an ambulance.

Police and sheriff's deputies spotted the guard's missing cruiser several miles from the school. The driver attempted to ram another cruiser, fought with officers and had to be shocked with a Taser before being arrested.

A .22-caliber pistol that investigators believe is the murder weapon was found the car.

Authorities on Wednesday said they could not yet release the suspect's name, but said he told police he was homeless and from Virginia.