Fight Leads to TX School Shooting That Injures Four

DALLAS — Four people were injured — including a 15-year-old boy who was critically wounded — in a shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington on Wednesday morning, and a suspect was taken into custody about four hours later.

Arlington police said they received several calls around 9:15 a.m. about a shooting on the second floor of the school at 7700 S. Watson Road.

According to Arlington Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye, the shooting occurred during a fight. Video circulating on social media that purports to depict what led up to the shooting shows two males fighting in a classroom.

Kolbye said four people were injured, including two who had been shot. Three were taken to a hospital, and an adult who suffered minor injuries declined treatment.

Later Wednesday afternoon, police said a 15-year-old boy was in critical condition and recovering in an intensive-care unit after surgery. A 25-year-old man whose relationship to the school was unknown was in good condition, and a teenage girl who had what police said was a small abrasion was expected to be released later in the day. None of their names were released.

Police identified 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins as a suspect at a morning news conference. He turned himself in to authorities about 1:15 p.m. and, with an attorney, was speaking to detectives.

Kolbye said Simpkins faced three charges of aggravated assault. He was booked into the Arlington jail just before 2 p.m., and his bail was set at $75,000.

Police said they did not know where Simpkins went after the shooting was reported.

“This is going to be a long-term, continuing investigation and processing of the crime scene,” Kolbye said. He said Arlington police are leading the investigation.

Authorities could be seen outside a home in the 600 block of Harris Ridge Drive, about a mile from the school, for several hours after the shooting. About 2:30 p.m., a SWAT team executed a search warrant at the home.

A woman who identified herself as Simpkins’ mother declined to comment outside the home as law enforcement searched the residence. Neighbors said the suspect lived at the house with his grandmother.

Kolbye said he wasn’t sure how the shooter got the gun into the building or whether there were metal detectors. He said that Grand Prairie police recovered a .45-caliber handgun on England Parkway and that federal authorities would run ballistic analysis on it to determine whether it was used in the shooting.

“This is not a random act of violence,” Kolbye said. “This is not somebody attacking our schools. … We believe this was a student who got into a fight.”

The school was placed on lockdown as officials conducted what Arlington police said was a “methodical” search.

Mansfield ISD said about 11 a.m. that the “all clear” had been given and that students would soon be taken to be reunited with their parents. Children were ushered onto school buses, which began arriving at the Center for Performing Arts at 1110 W. Debbie Lane around noon.

All students — about 1,700 in total — had been evacuated from the high school by around 1:30 p.m., Kolbye said. Police teams finished searching the campus around that time and did not identify any other threats.

Lockdowns also were lifted at other nearby schools. Kolbye said police presence had been increased at Arlington schools.

A number of law enforcement agencies were at Timberview, including police from Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield and Mansfield ISD, as well as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

At the afternoon news conference, Kolbye said he couldn’t be 100% certain the video shared on social media had been recorded Wednesday.

“All I know is I saw that video, and that was what was presented to me,” he said.

Authorities denounced false allegations that circulated on social media after the shooting, saying that online threats from people across North Texas diverted them from substantiated leads and that the people who spread them could face charges.

“We are not going to tie up resources for those; we’re going to prosecute those,” Mansfield police Chief Tracy Aaron said.

‘It really breaks your heart’

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said his thoughts and prayers were with the victims and their families.

“I’m a father of four and a grandfather of five,” he said. “I empathize with the fear and anxiety associated with the safety of our kids and today’s society.”

Ross said the shooting made him wonder how firearms are getting into the hands of children.

“Anytime you see something like this in this country, it really breaks your heart,” he said.

Council Member Nikkie Hunter, who represents the district where the school is located, echoed the mayor’s sentiment.

“It’s heartbreaking, and it’s extremely heartbreaking every time it happens in any community,” she said.

State Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat whose district includes the school, wrote in a tweet that the situation was a “terrible tragedy.”

“I am trying to find out more details, but for now, please pray for those injured and the safety of all involved,” Turner wrote.

Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking at a news conference in Mission, said that he was concerned for the families.

“What we can say obviously is that we grieve for everyone who has been harmed or impacted by this in any way whatsoever, and we as a state, working with our local communities, will do everything possible to ensure that the shooter is effectively prosecuted,” he said.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, in Washington, also spoke about the shooting, saying, “There have been far too many of these in far too many schools.”

Mansfield ISD canceled all after-school activities Wednesday. Officials said victims services from a variety of law enforcement departments were available to students.

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(Dallas Morning News staff writers Everton Bailey Jr. and John Gravois contributed to this report.)

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