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A volunteer fireman who subdued a teenage gunman outside a South Carolina school has been described as a hero.

Police say the teenager killed his father and then drove to Townville Elementary School, opening fire outside the building.

Two young students and a teacher were injured, police said.

Fireman Jamie Brock was one of the first on the scene and "took down" the unnamed boy before he could go inside the school, local authorities said.

The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon at the school, about 100 miles (160km) north-east of Atlanta.

Officials say the boy shot his father, 47-year-old Jeffrey Osborne, at home and then drove two miles to the school, where he parked and began shooting with a handgun.

One student was shot in the foot and another in the leg, police said. A female teacher was shot in the shoulder.

It was then that Mr Brock, a volunteer fireman of 30 years experience, apprehended the teenager, Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper said.

Scott Stoller of Anderson County Emergency Management said he was "absolutely a hero".

He "wants to remain humble and quiet about it" as he believes "he did nothing any of the other volunteer firefighters wouldn't have done'', he said.

Officials are investigating the teenager's motive, but say there is no evidence of links to terrorism or racism.

The boy reportedly called his grandparents in a distressed state early on Wednesday afternoon. They arrived at his house to find their son - his father - dead.

The emergency call from the primary school was made very shortly afterwards, police said.

According to US reports, one of the injured students remains in a critical condition. The teacher and the other student have been released from hospital.

The school has cancelled classes for the rest of the week.

"We are heartbroken about this senseless act of violence," local school superintendent Joanne Avery told US media.