Student dies after shooting at Arlington Bowie High School; 17-year-old suspect in custody

An 18-year-old student was killed in a shooting Wednesday afternoon on the campus of Bowie High School in Arlington, and the suspected shooter — a 17-year-old student — was arrested, police said.

Bowie High School was placed on lockdown and students were kept there for over two hours as authorities investigated the shooting and secured the campus.

The victim, who police said was shot five or six times, was transported to a hospital, where he died. He will be identified by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Police said the suspect’s name will be released after he’s booked into the jail.

The motive for the shooting is under investigation but police believe the victim and suspect knew each other. The suspect was taken into custody near the school.

Sources told WFAA-TV that the victim was shot near a portable classroom.

The Arlington Independent School District announced shortly before 3 p.m. that the campus, at 2101 Highbank Drive, was locked down and students would not be dismissed on time.

“Bowie High School is on lockdown due to an on-campus shooting outside of the school building,” the school district said in an emailed statement. “Arlington Police Department is responding. We are planning to reunite students and families when it’s possible to do so.”

Parents were told to go to 1001 E. Division St. at the AISD Athletics and Aquatics Center to reunite with their children, police said. The public was asked not to go to the school campus.

“The Arlington ISD is setting up a reunification site for Bowie High School students and families at the Arlington ISD Athletics Center at 1001 E. Division, 76011,” school officials said in a statement at 4:10 p.m. “All Bowie students inside the school will be bused to the reunification center.”

Around 4:30 p.m., an announcement was made to parents waiting at the reunification site that it might be about an hour before students arrived there. Some buses could be seen leaving the school around 5 p.m.

“Please understand we have very strict safety protocols we must follow — and so the process of releasing students / staff and busing them to the reunification center will take some time,” police said.

Parents and guardians were told to check in at the natatorium, which is located next to the Athletics Center. Parents were told to bring identification and enter the Athletics Center from the entrance located off Division Street. Overflow parking for reunification was made available at Lot 11 at AT&T Stadium.

One mother, Erica Sims, whose daughter is a sophomore, started trying to get to her daughter as soon as she heard about the shooting, she said as she waited at the reunification center.

“I panicked of course. I’ve been trying to find my child and I can’t find my child,” she said.

Sims and her family live in the neighborhood close to the school and she said she drove around looking for her daughter until she was told to go to the athletics center. She initially couldn’t find a place to park but eventually was able to get in.

Sims also has a son who is a senior at Bowie High but he left school early for the day.

When Sims first heard what happened, “My heart dropped,” she said. “I didn’t want it to be my child. I don’t want it to be anybody’s child.”

Sims texted her daughter several times, asking, “Baby, are you there? Are you there? Were you shot?”

Sims said she doesn’t know how to move on from this. She has told her kids to keep their phones on silent, Airpods in their ears and to stay in contact if anything like this ever happened.

“We never had to learn this coming up,” she said. “We never had to learn how to shelter in place.”

A Bowie High senior who was dismissed early for the day said she used to have classes with the victim. Students have heard the shooting happened after a fight or disagreement between two students.

“It was very shocking knowing that happened at my school because I did always have that fear knowing that it happened at other schools around me in Arlington,” the senior told the Star-Telegram. She also lives in the neighborhood and was at home when she said she heard “the chaos” of ambulances and police arriving at her school.

This was the third shooting at a school in the city of Arlington within three years.

In March 2023, 16-year-old Ja’Shawn Poirier was killed when a classmate opened fired outside Lamar High School before classes began for the day.

In September, a Tarrant County jury in juvenile court handed down a maximum 40-year sentence to the 16-year-old shooter, who also wounded another student. The teen began serving his sentence at a juvenile facility and could later be transferred to an adult prison.

In October 2021, four people were injured in a shooting at Timberview High School, which is in Arlington but part of the Mansfield school district. The 19-year-old defendant in that case, Timothy Simpkins, was convicted at trial of attempted capital murder. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

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David Barrera recently threw his granddaughter her quinceañera. He found about about Wednesday’s shooting when his daughter texted his wife.

“Where is Popo?” she asked.

Standing in front of the athletics center waiting for his granddaughter to show up, he experienced waves of emotion. Frustration and anger and fear to relief and thankfulness that she’s alive.

“I’m sad for the person who was shot,” he said. “I’m not glad for any of this. I’m frustrated. I’m angry.”

His granddaughter texted him updates throughout the experience. At one point she said she and other students were told to leave their belongings in the hallway and walk with their hands in the air to the library.

That was a good sign, he said. Walking with their hands in the air meant police were there and she was safe.

Then she told him she’d been loaded on a bus. When they were halfway there she texted him again.

Barrera said he’s reminded his daughter to breathe and to pray a prayer her grandmother taught her. He was in Garland when he got the call from his wife that there had been a shooting at their granddaughter’s school. He said he got to Arlington in what felt like just 20 minutes, still wearing his work uniform.

“I’ve always made her a promise that I will always protect her,” Barrera said. “If she’s ever in danger, I’ll be there. I don’t care if I have to fly. I’ll be there.”

Barrera got a little choked up as he talked about how he taught his granddaughter to ride a bike. Taught her how to fish. It was the relief coming, along with thoughts of “what if?”

She’s maintaining her composure, Barrera said, and he’s going to do his best to keep his, for her sake.

Barrera planned to let his granddaughter catch her breath, process her emotions and come to him if she wants. After a little while, he said they’ll sit down, talk about everything that happened and pray together.

When Amiah Barrera walked up to her grandfather, she clung to him with tears in their eyes.

“Don’t let go,” she told him.

“Just breathe, your granddad’s here,” David Barrera said.

After they parted and Amiah Barrera, her father, mother and three little brothers started walking away, David Berrera said he’s glad it wasn’t worse.

“I’m glad this wasn’t another Uvalde.”

More Bowie High parents reacted on social media to news of Wednesday’s shooting.

“I’m just ready to hold my daughter,” one woman posted.

“My daughter texting like crazy! I’m so anxious we are not allowed near the school I’m close by trying to to keep calm,” another woman said.

“My daughter is freaking out and has been texting me the whole time,” another person posted on social media.

“Why not be honest and say there was a shooting. Parents need to be informed!!! I had to find out from a text from my child,” a woman wrote in response to an initial post that police were at the school investigating an incident and dismissal wouldn’t happen on time.

Arlington police said in a post on X at 3:09 p.m. that officers were at the scene investigating the shooting. More details will be provided by police as they become available, the department said.

Classes at Bowie High normally dismiss at 3 p.m. Arlington ISD first posted an alert on its website about the lockdown at 2:56 p.m.

The shooting was reported about 2:50 p.m., according to a police call log.

Arlington ISD has canceled classes at Bowie High School for Thursday. “When students return to class, they will have the full support of our counseling team for as long as needed,” the district said.

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