By Jamie Stengle and Jill Bleed, The Associated Press
An 18-year-old student accused in a shooting at a Texas high school was released from jail Thursday after posting bond.
Police accuse Timothy George Simpkins of opening fire in a classroom Wednesday at Timberview High School in Arlington. Two people were shot and two others suffered unspecified injuries. He was jailed on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Police said a 15-year-old student who was shot remained in critical condition while a 25-year-old teacher who was shot was in good condition Thursday. A third person was treated for minor abrasions and a fourth person was hurt but did not require treatment at a hospital. Police said earlier that three of the four injured were students.
Police have said the shooting happened after a fight, but Simpkins’ family said he had been bullied and robbed twice at school.
“The decision he made, taking the gun, we’re not justifying that,” said family spokeswoman Carol Harrison Lafayette, who spoke to reporters outside the Simpkins’ home Wednesday night while standing with other relatives. “That was not right. But he was trying to protect himself.”
Student Hanyla Milligan said she first got word of the shooting when she heard a commotion.
“Someone outside of my classroom said, ‘He just shot him,” the 16-year-old Milligan said, and then she heard people running. “People were scared. They was crying. They was shaking.”
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating how the suspect got a gun. Local police from other nearby jurisdictions, including the cities of Mansfield and Grand Prairie, assisted Wednesday.
The shooting Wednesday happened just days after a shooting at a Houston charter school that injured an administrator. Texas’ deadliest school shooting occurred in May 2018 when a 17-year-old armed with a shotgun and a pistol opened fire at Santa Fe High School near Houston, killing 10 people, most of whom were students.