A teacher in a southwest Missouri school district is killed in what authorities say appears to be an accidental shooting.

 

According to the Anderson, Missouri, Police, officers responded on Sunday to a private residence after reports of an accidental discharge of a firearm. When they arrived on the scene, officers found 28-year-old Annie Strickling-Gaines unconscious with an apparent gunshot wound. She was taken to Freeman West Hospital in Joplin where she was pronounced deceased.

 

The Neosho School district has confirmed that Strickling-Gaines was an art teacher at RISE Elementary, where she has taught for the past five years.

 

Anderson Police say there was another individual in the home at the time of the shooting. The investigation remains ongoing.