Student arrested hours after Texas school shooting

ARLINGTON, Texas – An 18-year-old student opened fire in a brawl at his Dallas-area high school on Wednesday, injuring four people and then fleeing before being taken into custody hours later, have announced the 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 later Wednesday, 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.”

A spokeswoman for Simpkins’ family said he was bullied and robbed twice at school.

“The decision he made to take the gun, we don’t justify it,” said family spokeswoman Carol Harrison Lafayette, who spoke to reporters outside the Simpkins’ home as the she was hanging out with other relatives. “It wasn’t right. But he was trying to protect himself.

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating how the suspect obtained a firearm. Local police from other neighboring jurisdictions, including the towns of Mansfield and Grand Prairie, provided assistance on Wednesday.

Student Hanyla Milligan said she was first told about the shooting when she heard a commotion.

“Someone outside my classroom said, ‘He just shot him,’ said Milligan, 16, then heard people running. ‘People were scared. They were crying. They were shaking.

After word of the shooting spread, hundreds of 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.”

Timberview serves approximately 1,900 students in grades 9-12. The sprawling resort opened in 2004.

Arlington, with a population of approximately 400,000, is a major suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The city is home to attractions such as the Six Flags Over Texas Amusement Park and the stadiums where the NFL Dallas Cowboys and MLB Texas Rangers play. Authorities closed a section of a toll highway in Arlington near Timberview as dozens of school buses picked up students to reunite them with their parents. Some waited hours to pick up their children as traffic in the area increased.

Wednesday’s shooting came just days after a Houston charter school shooting that injured an administrator. The deadliest school shooting in Texas occurred 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 whom were 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.