Tenn. teacher accused of shooting 2 principals was losing job, warned for yelling at students

Accused Tennessee teacher told he was losing job

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An elementary school teacher charged with shooting his principals had been warned for yelling at students and told he wouldn’t have a job next term, school officials said Thursday. They also investigated a November complaint that he was unstable but didn’t consider him an “imminent threat.”

Knox County Schools Superintendent James McIntyre Jr. said Thursday that Inskip Elementary School teacher Mark Stephen Foster, 48, had been told on Wednesday, before the shooting, that his contract was not being renewed.

Police said Principal Elisa Luna and Assistant Principal Amy Brace were shot multiple times each in the school by Foster about an hour after classes were dismissed early for snow.

Foster, of Clinton, was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a gun on school property after the shooting in north Knoxville. He is being held on a $1 million bond.

Luna was in critical condition on Thursday morning. Officials could not release an updated condition on Brace, but she was reported in stable condition Wednesday night.

McIntyre said the contract decision was made by Luna and he couldn’t say what prompted her decision. Personnel records showed Luna had admonished Foster last week after getting a complaint that he yelled at students.

Foster told Luna and Brace that he had “been under pressure repeatedly” in response to the complaint.

In November, school officials got an anonymous e-mail saying that Foster was a danger to staff and students and described him as a “ticking time bomb.”

McIntyre said they learned from authorities about allegations that Foster had made threats to other people, including an order of protection sought by his brother, Anthony Foster, last April. The order was dismissed the following month.

“What was found was family issues, some minor disputes over property lines and a few folks who really didn’t like Mark Foster,” McIntyre said. “What was not found was any evidence of a crime nor any indication that Mark Foster represented any imminent threat.”

The investigation also showed that a student and a parent complained in December that Foster pushed and grabbed a student, although Foster denied it.

Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said they are still investigating where Foster got a gun that was found in his vehicle and whether he possessed it legally. Police removed a computer from Foster’s home and a box believed to be related to the purchase of the gun.

The Tennessee Department of Safety had no record of a gun permit under his name.

Foster was scheduled for a Feb. 22 hearing, and public defender Mark Stephens was appointed to defend him. Stephens did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department had received several complaints against Foster in the past decade but said Foster had no record of arrests there.

An unidentified woman in August 2006 complained Foster was harassing her with his car while she was driving. Another unidentified woman complained in March 2009 that Foster had threatened her for giving him a bad haircut. No action was taken against him in court in either case.

In seeking an order of protection against his brother, Anthony Foster claimed Mark Foster had threatened him after learning he was not named executor of the will of their mother.

“I am very afraid what he might do to me or my family. He suffers from mental illness and has been treated for it for several years,” Anthony Foster wrote. “I fear for my and my family’s life.”

By state law, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation background checks are conducted on all prospective teachers. Foster’s background check, which included a fingerprint search, drug test and review of Department of Children’s Services records, was clean, McIntyre said.

Foster was hired by Knox County Schools in August 2008, and was at least one more school year away from being eligible for tenure.

Tennessee Department of Education spokeswoman Amanda Anderson said background checks will turn up criminal convictions but won’t generate information about orders of protection that have been dismissed or basic complaints to police.

“It’s a really thin line,” she said. “Sometimes when you have issues like this there are warning signs that never show up in the background checks.”