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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – An 18-year-old student opened fire in a brawl at his Dallas-area high school on Wednesday, injuring four people and then running away before being arrested hours later, announced authorities.
Timothy George Simpkins was taken into custody without incident, the Arlington Police Department tweeted. He was incarcerated in Arlington Jail on three counts of aggravated assault with a lethal weapon and was being held on $ 75,000 bond.
One person was in critical condition, another was in good condition and a third person was treated for minor abrasions and was due to be discharged from hospital on Wednesday afternoon, police said. A fourth person was injured but did not require hospital treatment. Police said earlier that three of the four injured were students.
The shooting at Timberview High School, which is in Arlington but is owned by the neighboring Mansfield School District, stems from a brawl that broke out in a classroom, Arlington Deputy Police Chief Kevin Kolbye said. at a press conference prior to Simpkins’ arrest.
“It is not a random act of violence,” he said. “This is not someone attacking our school.”
Timberview serves approximately 1,900 students in grades 9-12. The sprawling resort opened in 2004.
After word of the shooting spread, the parents gathered at the Mansfield Independent School District Center for the Performing Arts about five miles from the high school to be reunited with their children, who were transported by bus. Among them was Justin Rockhold, whose ninth grade son had texted him to let him know he was okay.
Rockhold said he served in the military and used that experience to educate his son, telling him to keep his head down and stand still to stay safe. When asked if he thought a school shooting might happen, he said his military training was also a reminder of the dangerous realities of life.
“Obviously in America – in the world we live in today – it’s still something. … It’s in the back of your mind, ”said Rockhold, adding that he prayed for the injured. “I am just blessed today that my child is safe.”
The shooting happened just days after a Houston charter school shooting who injured an administrator. The deadliest school shooting in Texas happened in May 2018 when a 17-year-old armed with a shotgun and pistol opened fire at Santa Fe High School near Houston, killing 10 people, most of them college students.
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An earlier version of this story has been corrected to state that the suspect’s last name is Simpkins, not Simpkin.
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Bleeding reported in Little Rock, Arkansas. Acacia Coronado in Austin contributed to this report. Coronado is a member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative corps. Report for America is a national, nonprofit service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to cover undercover issues.
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