One student dead after shooting outside Lamar High School in Texas; suspect charged with capital murder
A shooting outside a North Texas high school early Monday left one student dead and another with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
A suspect, identified as a male student, was arrested and charged with capital murder, according to the Arlington Police Department.
Police say the gunfire erupted outside Lamar High School in Arlington shortly before 7 a.m. local time, more than a half hour before classes usually begin. A male victim died after being hospitalized, and a female victim was also hospitalized after being grazed by a bullet.
Neither victim has been publicly identified. Authorities say they won’t name the suspect because he is a minor.
“The suspect never entered the school building and ran from the campus immediately after firing the shots,” police said Monday afternoon. “The motive for the shooting remains unclear.”
Lamar High School, which enrolls about 2,400 students, went into lockdown around 7:10 a.m. and began the process of releasing students for the day shortly before 10 a.m., a spokeswoman for the Arlington Independent School District told the Daily News.
“We, as a community, cannot tolerate this kind of violence,” Arlington Police Chief Al Jones said Monday. “We need gun owners to be responsible and to properly secure their firearms, so they don’t end up on our school campuses.”
Lamar High School was scheduled to resume classes Monday after students went on spring break last week. Tuesday’s classes have also been canceled, and counseling will be available Wednesday for students and staff members, the district spokeswoman said.
“Our thoughts are with the affected students, their families and the entire Lamar High School community today in light of this unnecessary violence,” Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said. “We are grateful for our strong partnership with the Arlington Independent School District and we pledge to continue working with school leaders across our city to ensure our students have a safe learning environment.”
Arlington is about 15 miles east of Fort Worth and 25 miles west of Dallas.
