A Texas student who allegedly shot and injured four people at his school has been released on a $75,000 bond.
The suspect, 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins, was escorted from the jailhouse on Thursday and did not respond to reporters’ questions.
Simpkins was joined by his attorney who said that the shooting was being overblown by the media.
Civil rights attorney Kim T. Cole spoke on behalf of the suspect, and claimed that the shooting was not a “standard-issue school shooting.”
Many are claiming that this school shooting has been swept under the rug by the media, due to the fact that the shooter was not white.
One of the four victims was a teacher, who was shot in the back after trying to break up the fight.
More on this breaking story from the New York Post:
The Texas student who allegedly opened fire at his high school, injuring four people, including a teacher, was sprung from jail on Thursday afternoon — as an attorney who joined him by his side insisted that the case wasn’t a “standard-issue school shooting.”
Timothy George Simpkins, 18, who attends Timberview High School in Arlington, will report to home confinement after he posted $75,000 bond at Tarrant County Jail, news station WFAA reported.
Simpkins, who was wearing a blue baseball cap and graphic t-shirt, didn’t answer questions from reporters as he was escorted from the jailhouse by two relatives into the back seat of a white Mercedes sedan.
As part of the conditions of his release, he will also have to submit to drug and alcohol testing and wear a GPS monitoring device.
Civil rights attorney Kim T. Cole, who spoke on behalf of the family, blasted reporters outside the jail for portraying the dangerous incident as a “standard-issue school shooting.”
“There are numerous school shootings that have occurred across this country which are tragic. All school shootings are tragic,” Cole said. “However, in this situation, this was not someone who was just out to go and shoot a school and had made up their mind [and said,] ‘You know hey I’m upset and I’m just going to shoot anyone I see.'”
“That was not the situation here. So I request the media correct their narrative with regard to what happened, and that you all respect the family’s privacy,” she continued.
A family spokeswoman has claimed that he acted out of self-defense after being robbed and targeted by bullies.
Video shows the alleged shooter leaving the jailhouse.
The Daily Wire has more details on the shooting:
“The student accused of injuring four people in a shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington on Wednesday was released on bail from the Tarrant County Jail on Thursday,” The Star Telegram reported, adding that the suspect was charged “with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”
Due to company policy, The Daily Wire does not name or show pictures of mass shooters and alleged mass shooters.
The suspect had been transferred from Arlington jail to the Tarrant County facility before being released after posting a $75,000 bond. Video posted online showed the suspect being released.
The alleged school shooter, who is a black male, turned himself into law enforcement hours after the shooting, which sent multiple people to the hospital.
The New York Post reported:
Footage on social media allegedly showed [the suspect] getting into an altercation during class with another student that escalated to gunfire Wednesday. The fight was broken up and the two students calmed down, but then [the suspect] pulled out a firearm from his orange backpack and fired several shots that struck three people, according to an arrest warrant Thursday.
Calvin Pettitt, a 25-year-old English teacher who jumped in to break up the fight, was shot in the back, suffering broken ribs and a collapsed lung, according to police and his family. The other victims were identified as Zacchaeus Selby, Eyimofe Olawepo and Pariesa Altma, according to a bond document obtained by Dallas News.
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