Arlington, TX (WBAP/KLIF) – There was an eyebrow-raising development revealed during what was billed as a security and safety town hall at Mansfield ISD last night.
As it relates to the suspect in a shooting at MISD’s Timberview High School earlier this month, Arlington Police Chief Al Jones ruled out bullying as a factor that led to the incident.
Jones added that suspect Timothy Simpkins is “involved in high risk activity” and that activity led to a disagreement at school.
“We can’t and we won’t say that there was any evidence of bullying that day or any other day,” Chief Jones said. “I also want to say with certainty that Mr. Simpkins is involved in high-risk activity, and that high-risk activity led to the disagreement within the community.”
Police continue to investigate what prompted the fight between the Simpkins and 15-year old Zacchaes Selby before the shooting.
After the shooting incident Simpkins’ family told reporters that he had been bullied since the beginning of the school year and that they had reported it to the district. While the family said that they do not condone him taking a gun to school, they say that he was trying to protect himself.
The town hall was held just over two weeks after the shooting, to discuss safety and security measures within the district.
Bruno Dias, Director of Safety and Security says they are launching a second safety and security committee to get additional help as well as putting more security measures in place.
He says they are deploying K-9s to detect gun powder as well as random metal detector checks throughout every high school across the district.
There were mixed opinions from parents about how the district has handled and/or is handling security.
One man stated that he thought leaders have shown diligence, and humility; another blasted the 40-million dollar expenditure of a swimming pool, possibly at the expense of school safety, and a mother wanted to know when kids would be held responsible for their actions. She also said, “We need to make parents responsible for how they raise their kids.” See more in this video from our media partner WFAA.
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