ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) 鈥� An 18-year-old student opened fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school on Wednesday, injuring four people and then fleeing before 小蓝视频 taken into custody hours later, authorities said.
Timothy George Simpkins was taken into custody without incident, the Arlington Police Department tweeted. He was booked in the Arlington jail on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was 小蓝视频 held on $75,000 bail.
One person was in critical condition, another was in good condition and a third person was treated for minor abrasions and was scheduled to be released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, police said. A fourth person was hurt but did not require treatment at a hospital. Police said earlier that three of the four injured were students.
The shooting at Timberview High School, which is in Arlington but belongs to the school district in neighboring Mansfield, stemmed from a fight that broke out in a classroom, Arlington Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye said at news conference before Simpkins' arrest.
鈥淭his is not a random act of violence,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is not somebody attacking our school.鈥�
Timberview serves about 1,900 students in the ninth through 12th grades. The sprawling complex opened in 2004.
After news of the shooting spread, parents gathered at the Mansfield Independent School District Center for the Performing Arts about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the high school to be reunified with their kids, who were bused over. Among them was Justin Rockhold, whose ninth-grade son had texted him to let him know he was OK.
Rockhold said he has served in the military and he drew on that experience to instruct his son, telling him to keep his head down and be still to stay safe. When asked whether he had thought a shooting could happen at the school, he said his military training is also a reminder of life鈥檚 dangerous realities.
鈥淥bviously in America 鈥� in the world we live in today 鈥� it鈥檚 always something. ... It鈥檚 in the back of your mind,鈥� Rockhold said, adding that he was praying for the injured. 鈥淚鈥檓 just blessed today that my kid鈥檚 safe.鈥�
The shooting happened just days after a that injured an administrator. Texas鈥� occurred in May of 2018 when a then-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.
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An earlier version of this story was corrected to reflect that the suspect's last name is Simpkins, not Simpkin.
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Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Acacia Coronado in Austin contributed to this report. Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Jamie Stengle And Jill Bleed, The Associated Press
