What to Know
- A student opened fire during a fight at Timberview High School in the Mansfield ISD.
- Four people were injured; Two are still in the hospital, including a 15-year-old student.
- Timothy George Simpkins was taken into custody and booked in the Arlington jail on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He's being held on $75,000 bail.
When an 18-year-old student opened fire during a fight at Timberview High School in the Mansfield Independent School District teachers and students took cover and barricaded themselves in classrooms.
A class just down the hall from where shots rang out worked together to make sure the gunman stayed away. Teacher Dale Topham and his history class barricaded the door with desks and a bookshelf.
"It was really close," said Topham. "The gunfire was actually going down the hallway in front of my door."
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Topham says the gunman ran right past his classroom just seconds after the violence.
Ralph Bess has two sons who attend Timberview High School. His son Dylan, a junior, says he hid in a storage closet in physics class.
"It's just an eye-opener, just knowing how close it really hit," Dylan said.
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Preston, Ralph's younger son and a freshman at the school, was on his way to campus when it was locked down and he got a text.
"He let me know he's OK, and he's on lockdown and he's safe," Preston Bess said.
When they emerged, they found out four people had been injured and the gunman had fled. The alleged shooter later turned himself in as law enforcement searched for him.
Hours later, parents like Preston who had rushed to the scene were finally reunited with their children.
"Like it or not this is going to be one of those things that, it's going to be with us forever," said Ralph Bess.
