Monday marks the start of the acknowledged high school shooter’s trial.According to court records, Timothy Simpkins allegedly opened fire at Timberview High School on October 6, 2021, injuring three pupils and one teacher.
Suffered With Ruptured Lung
A 15-year-old student who had been shot was being treated for his gunshot wounds in the ICU and was in serious condition at the time. Calvin Pettitt, a 25-year-old teacher, suffered shattered ribs and a ruptured lung.
Simpkins brought a firearm to school, and at some point during or after a dispute, he pulled the 45-caliber handgun out and started shooting, according to the Arlington Police report.
After the shooting, he turned himself in to the police and was given three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Simpkins was given a bond in 2021 and then arrested in December of that same year for allegedly “violating his bond requirements.”
The Arlington Police dispute Simpkins’ attorney’s assertion that the shooting was caused by “pervasive bullying” at the high school.
High Risk Activity
Kim T. Cole, a former legal representative for the Simpkins family, stated that there is a difference between a mass shooting at a school and a shooting that just so happened to take place there. “Timothy in this instance… That’s quite different from what occurred since he was being violently assaulted and was protecting himself against someone who was initiating a brutal attack.
Police Chief Al Jones claimed that Simpkins was engaged in “high-risk activity” with another student but that the department’s inquiry had not found any proof that bullying had anything to do with the shooting.
Jones stated, “We can’t and won’t declare that there was any proof of bullying on either that day or any other day. One of those who received potentially fatal bullet wounds was a teacher who intervened to break up the conflict. In the Timothy Simpkins case, the defense counsel submitted a lot of documents on Friday.
Requests that the court provide an application for a probated sentence to the jury because Simpkins has never been found guilty of a felony in this state or any other. At 8:30, the trial is scheduled to start.
