Texas school shooting suspect's family says he was robbed, bullied
The family of Texas school shooting suspect Timothy George Simkins claims the 18-year-old was bullied, repeatedly robbed and scared of going to school, reported The Dallas Morning News.
At least four people were injured when Simkins allegedly opened fire at Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday morning, according to authorities.
Simpkins fled the scene of the shooting. However, he later turned himself in with an attorney. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and his bond is currently set at $75,000.
His cousin Cint Wheat wrote on Facebook that "at the end of the day my lil cousin was bullied" and that "he not no bad kid."
Wheat also posted a video on social media of what appears to be a fight involving Simpkins, but details are still yet to be determined.
Carol Harrison Lafayette, who is acting as a spokesperson for Simkins's family, said the teenager was targeted because he had nice clothes and drove a nice car, according to the the Morning News.
“He was scared; he was afraid,” she said, noting that there were recordings of incidents. “It wasn’t just one person that would attack him and bully him, taking his money.”
“This is a situation where Timothy was being bullied,” Harrison Lafayette told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “It had been reported to the principals right along with the teachers. I’m not trying to justify the gun that was brought, but when you’re being bullied, when there’s bullies, throughout this nation you hear of young people ... committing suicide."
“The decision he made, taking the gun, we’re not justifying that,” Harrison Lafayette added. “That was not right. But he was trying to protect himself. And so we hope that the police department does the investigation properly.”
While details of what led to the shooting are still being investigated, Arlington police said in a statement, "Investigators believe a physical fight broke out just prior to the shooting."
A video, shared widely on Twitter, shows two students engaged in a violent fight allegedly on school premises and ends with sounds of a gun being fired.
Police said the incident occurred in a classroom on the second floor of the school.
