Student in Timberview shooting charged; warrant details how witnesses say it happened
The 18-year-old student who shot multiple people inside a high school classroom in Arlington on Wednesday pulled a gun out of his backpack after a fight between him and another student was broken up, according to an arrest warrant released by Arlington police Thursday.
Timothy Simpkins was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he turned himself in following the shooting at Timberview High School in Mansfield ISD on Wednesday morning.
Simpkins was booked into the Arlington City Jail and his bond was set at $75,000. Simpkins was transferred to Tarrant County Jail on Thursday morning, and was released on bail to his family Thursday afternoon.
Four people were injured in the shooting at the high school. A 15-year-old student who was fighting with Simpkins and a 25-year-old teacher who broke up the fight were shot, according to police. The 15-year-old was in critical condition as of Thursday. The teacher, identified by students and in a court document as Calvin Pettitt, was in good condition. A teenage girl had abrasions from being grazed by a bullet and was treated and released from the hospital, the arrest warrant said.
According to the arrest warrant, Simpkins was inside a classroom on the second floor of the Mansfield ISD high school when the fight started during second period. Another student came into the classroom and started to fight Simpkins, several students said during interviews Wednesday. A video of the fight circulating on social media shows Simpkins and the 15-year-old fighting.
Pettitt and several other teachers and coaches jumped in to break up the fight. The 15-year-old student “ultimately gave up and stopped being combative,” the arrest warrant says. Simpkins walked to an orange backpack and grabbed a gun, witnesses told police. Simpkins pointed the gun at the student he had been fighting with and shot him, the arrest warrant says. Pettitt was shot, as well.
One of the teachers ran out of the classroom and heard several shots go off. Another witness — a student — said she saw Simpkins shoot seven to eight times, according to the arrest warrant. Students near the classroom told the Star-Telegram they heard three to six shots and screaming.
Simpkins ran out of the classroom. He turned himself in at about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.
With the help of Mansfield ISD staff, the Mansfield ISD Police Department, the Mansfield Police Department, and the Grand Prairie Police Department placed the school on lockdown and secured the building, Arlington police said.
Once security sweeps of the school were complete, all remaining students at Timberview High School were evacuated and bused to the Mansfield ISD Center for Performing Arts. Hundreds of parents lined up at the building to pick up their children. The first of the buses got to the center at about noon and the last of the parents left the center at about 5 p.m.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, police said.
“We would like to thank our employees, as well as our local, state, and federal partners that assisted with the initial response and that are continuing to assist with the investigation,” Arlington police said in a press release.
Simpkins’ family said on Wednesday he had been bullied and robbed at Timberview High School and brought a handgun to protect himself.
The Arlington Police Department will take the lead on the criminal case, the release said.
