A Texas student opened fire during a fight at his high school Wednesday morning, injuring four people before taking off, police said.
Police said there is a manhunt underway for 18-year-old suspect Timothy Simpkins.
Timothy George Simpkins, 18, allegedly pulled out a gun and opened fire after getting into an altercation around 9:15 a.m. local time on the second floor of Timberview High School in Arlington, Assistant Police Chief Kevin Kolbye said.
“This is not a random act of violence. This is not somebody attacking our schools,” Kolbye said at a press conference.
“This was a student, they got into a fight, and drew a weapon,” he added.
Simpkins fled the scene and is believed to be in a 2018 Dodge Charger, Kolbye said.
“This is a person who is considered armed and dangerous,” Kolbye said at a press conference.
Police said one of the victims suffered minor injuries and refused care, while the three others were rushed to the hospital for treatment, at least two of them for gunshot wounds. Of those hospitalized, two were students and one may be a teacher, cops said.
The victims also included a pregnant woman who fell during the shooting, police said.
It’s unclear what prompted the fight Wednesday morning.
The school was placed on lockdown after “multiple” people were shot on campus Wednesday morning, according to police.
Mansfield Independent School District said the 1,900-student school was placed on lockdown until authorities gave the “all clear” around 11 a.m. local time.
A man who said he was a teacher at the school posted a photo of desks and chairs stacked against a classroom door.
“Shots fired at Timberview HS in Mansfield ISD in Arlington, TX. Right in the middle of my discussion of the Battle of Yorktown,” he wrote. “We are in lockdown. The shots were fired just down the hall from our classroom. Our classroom door is barricaded.”
Arlington Police confirmed they responded to the scene and were conducting a “methodical search” with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other local agencies.
Parents have been directed to a reunification center at the Center for Performing Arts to meet up with their children.
Police urged anyone with any information about Simpkins or his vehicle’s whereabouts to contact authorities.
“We asked for our citizen’s help to continue to search for that person and call in any leads that you may have,” said Mansfield Police Chief Tracy Aaron, whose officers also responded to the scene.
The shooting came just days after gunfire at a Houston charter school injured an administrator.
The state’s deadliest school shooting occurred in May 2018 when a then-17-year-old armed with a shotgun and pistol at Santa Fe High School fatally shot 10 people, most of whom were students.
