An 18-year-old student accused of shooting in a classroom wounding four people at a Texas high school was released from jail Thursday after posting bail.
Police have charged Timothy George Simpkins with opening fire Wednesday at Timberview High School in Arlingron.
At least
two people were shot and two others sustained unspecified injuries.
Simpkins turned himself in to authorities after he dropped out of school and consulted with an attorney.
Authorities arrested him on three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and set his bail at $ 75,000.
Photograph of Timothy George Simpkins, accused of injuring four people during a school shooting in Arlington, Texas, on October 6, 2021.AP
Police said the shooting occurred after a brawl between students, but Simpkins' family alleged
the young man was harassed at school and robbed twice recently
.
"The decision he made, to pick up a gun, we didn't justify it," said family spokeswoman Carol Harrison Lafayette, who spoke to reporters outside the Simpkins' home Wednesday night.
"That's not cool. But he was trying to protect himself."
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Police reported that
a 15-year-old student who was shot is still in critical condition
, while a teacher who was also shot was in stable condition.
The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating how the suspect obtained the weapon.
Mansfield and Grand Prairie police are also assisting with the investigations.
Family members hope to meet with students at the school in Arlington, Texas, where a shooting occurred on October 6, 2021.Tony Gutierrez / AP
Student Hanyla Milligan told The Associated Press news agency
He realized there was a shooting when he heard the ruckus that was made.
"Someone outside my classroom said,
'He just shot him
,
'
Milligan, 16, said, and then heard the footsteps of people running down the hallways." They were scared.
They were crying.
They were shaking, "he added.
"They were scared. They were crying. They were shaking."
Hanyla Milligan Timberview Student
After news of the shooting spread, hundreds of parents gathered at the Mansfield Independent School District Performing Arts Center, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the high school.
His children were transported there by bus.
Among them was Justin Rockhold, whose ninth-grade son had texted him to let him know he was okay.
Four injured after shooting at Arlington, Texas high school
Oct. 6, 202104: 28
Rockhold said he drew on his experience in the Army to instruct his son, asking him to keep his head down and not move to stay safe.
When asked if he had thought a shooting might happen at his boy's school, he said his military training helped him remember the dangers of reality.
"Obviously,
in America, in the world we live in today, there is always something ...
It's in the back of your mind," Rockhold said, adding that he was praying for the injured.
"Today I am lucky that my son is safe," he said.
Timberview is attended by about 1,900 students in grades nine through twelve.
The extensive educational complex opened in 2004.
Wednesday's shooting occurred just days after a former student shot a clerk in the back at a South Houston charter high school.