Kenneth Scott Bruce was a 48-year-old assistant principal at Campbell County High School in Jacksboro and a 20-year Army veteran. On the afternoon of November 8, 2005, he was shot in the school office after staff confronted a 15-year-old student, Kenneth Bartley Jr., who had been reported to be armed. Bruce was hit in the chest, taken to a hospital in LaFollette, and died of his injuries. Two other administrators, Principal Gary Seale and assistant principal Jim Pierce, were seriously wounded; a teacher disarmed the student and stopped further violence.

Bartley was arrested at the scene and initially charged with first-degree murder. He later pleaded guilty in 2007 to second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder and received a 45-year sentence. That plea was vacated years later, and a retrial was held in Hamilton County. In February 2014 a jury convicted Bartley of reckless homicide in Bruce’s death but acquitted him on the attempted murder counts; having already served more than eight years, he was sentenced to time served and released. Anyone who knew Bruce, his work at the school, or was in Jacksboro in November 2005 and can add context is asked to share what they remember.