The student accused of injuring four people in a shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington on Wednesday was released on bail with the help of Connecticut Bail Bonds Group from the Tarrant County Jail on Thursday, as his attorney and family made new statements in his defense.
The family of Timothy Simpkins, 18, gathered outside the jail and joined in a prayer circle before escorting Simpkins to be processed and released.
Simpkins, who is charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, was transferred from the Arlington jail to the Tarrant County facility before being released Thursday afternoon. After spending hours inside the jail, the family emerged and ushered the teen into a white Mercedes Benz parked outside the building.
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Family declined to comment to reporters outside the jail, but online, a family spokesperson attributed a statement on behalf of Simpkins’ mother and grandmother.
The Facebook post attested to Simpkins’ character, saying that their son was painted as a “menace to our society and nothing could be further from the truth.”
“He has never been known to bother anyone and would do anything to help someone in need,” the post says.
“From the beginning of this school year, Timothy has been bullied at school. He has been beaten, taunted, and harassed on a daily basis,” the post read. “Recently he was ambushed by a group of young males outside of school, stripped of his clothing in front of a crowd of onlookers, and robbed of his money and possessions. He has been humiliated and stripped of his dignity on more than one occasion which led to him being fearful to go to school or even leave our home without an adult.”
The Facebook post said the issues were brought to school officials’ attention, but no actions were taken. A 15-year-old student who fought with Simpkins and a 25-year-old teacher who helped break up the fight were shot when Simpkins pulled a handgun from his backpack and opened fire, police wrote in an arrest warrant affidavit. Another student was grazed by a bullet, and a teacher had minor injuries from a fall.
At a press conference Wednesday, Mansfield school district Associate Superintendent of Communications Donald Williams said, “We don’t know if [bullying] was tied to [the shooting], but what I will say is we take the safety and security of our students and our faculty and staff seriously. … The entire situation will be assessed and evaluated and for us as a district we’re always looking at ways in which we can improve and get better. … We have law enforcement officers on every single one of our campuses, I think that’s important for the community to know and that’s been something that’s been a tremendous benefit for us as a school district.”
“We’re going to continue to investigate this particular situation and the students that are involved will be dealt with in accordance to our Student Code of Conduct, and that’s the way that whole process is handled,” Williams added.
The family’s post said Simpkins “became depressed and some days did not even want to get out of bed. I am certain that he was fearful for his safety and felt that he had no support from those in authority whose responsibility it was to protect him.”
The family also added that Simpkins’ father was “brutally beaten to death,” and that it “definitely heightened Timothy’s fear for his life.”
“Many of you have seen the video of the brutal beating Timothy received — he never even returned a blow — he simply balled up and covered his head,” the family’s statement said, referencing video of the fight that preceded the shooting. “Not to mention that the young men responsible for beating and harassing him recently made threats to kill him so you see, my son was terrified and believed he would be murdered just like his father.”
The Facebook status described the 18-year-old as a “kind and thoughtful child,” who earned straight A’s before transferring to Timberview. Simpkins attended a private school and wanted to become an engineer, according to the social media post.
“Please know that I am not suggesting that taking a gun to school was the right choice to make, I am just saying that there is so much more to the story and all of the details should be known so that my son can be properly defended,” the post said.
Simpkins’ attorney, Kim Te’Nee Cole, spoke briefly after he left the jail. She spoke out against what she called a “false narrative” that described Wednesday’s shooting as a “mass shooting.”
“Obviously what happened [Wednesday] was very tragic,” she said. “I believe it being portrayed as the standard issue in school shootings is simply a media issue and not a legal issue.”
Cole said the family did not have an additional statement Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 1:23 PM.
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“From the beginning of this school year, Timothy has been bullied at school. He has been beaten, taunted, and harassed on a daily basis,” the post read. “Recently he was ambushed by a group of young males outside of school, stripped of his clothing in front of a crowd of onlookers, and robbed of his money and possessions. He has been humiliated and stripped of his dignity on more than one occasion which led to him being fearful to go to school or even leave our home without an adult.”
If this is true, then why would nothing have been done—especially given today’s environment of school violence. But then, he is released from jail a day later. If the ethnicity were of a lighter color, you had best believe that White Privilege would be the outcry. It appears the Media has found a way to spin this the way they want it—and I am sure there is some activism in the background to ensure that this plays out correctly.
Hey son of thunder, have been a supporter of your comments many times. This time I want to say that the schools do not do anything about bullying. My son had a similar issue and we brought him up to be peaceful but I did teach him how to box. Well it finally came down to us telling him, he has the right to unleash on those that attack you and we will back you up no matter what. The principal when she contacted us of my sons retaliation tried to tell us this was unacceptable and that your son should have rolled up in a ball and protect his head. We told her that we do not agree and what our son had done was after we informed his teachers and guidance counselor of the bullying and they did nothing. Hence our son took care of the situation, served his time in detention and had a lot of friends including the kid that bullied him, after it was all over. So the schools don’t get it done right at all.
Thank you so much for your support—I really appreciate it. Point taken regarding the schools’ handling of bullying and glad things worked out for your son. Take care.
YOu can certainly bet, had he been a white shooter, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO BAIL.
Spin? Media spin? Surely you jest.
notice when the media found out it was not a white kid they dropped the story off the front page.
it did not fit the lamestream media’s narrative.
But if his harassers were white it would be front page news.
Yea.. ALL Wednesday, this shooting was the TOP STORY, from 10am or so EST till past 3pm… NOW, there’s not a single peep about it.
Coincidence.
Since when has attempted premeditated murder been so casually acceptable? This is an eighteen year old adult who intended to do bodily harm to others; if he was a better shot would he have still been let out? There is no excuse for his actions or intentions and he should not be walking around freely amongst law abiding citizens. Are the rules of society different due to him and others’ claim that he had been bullied? I guess if you drive a Mercedes perhaps the rules are different. This sets the very wrong example for everyone else who feels wronged and some how justified in hurting or worse to another person.
This from the family that prays “Praise the Lord and pass out the ammunition and guns to minors”. I seriously doubt the kid bought this gun on the street. In Texas there are severe penalties for parents who don;t lock down their firearms. I have a teacher freind who teaches kindergarten in Arlington Texas and had a Black kid bring a gun to the classroom. One begins to think that the American murder rate of blacks themselves would drop below that of whites if not totally dissappear if they were just banned from owning guns.,,,,for their own protection of course.
I have to disagree on this one. I saw the video in which Simpkins was being beaten down by the other larger kid unmercifully. Then we find that the same kid and his friends has previously attacked Simpkins, stripped him naked and stole all his belongings. The attacking kid got what he deserved. Simpkins should be tried for having a weapon in the school and negligent use of the weapon but nothing else. If this had happened anywhere outside of the school room it would be a clear case of self defense. The young thug beating up Simpkins was well on track to become a 20 year old thug car jacking and attacking others in the public. I have no sympathy for him.
More and more, it certainly seems if you are of the right color (BLACK)< you can literally get away with murder.
Young black male shoots up a school and gets out of jail the next day.
Young antifa thugs burn, loot, attack people, destroy federal property, and they don’t even get arrested.
Little old white ladies go walking through the capitol building on January 6th taking selfies, they get arrested and held for months in solitary confinement without charges.
See how that works?
And parents who speak out against their school boards, forcing vaccine mandates etc, are treated as Terrorists.. WHILE ACTUAL terrorists are more than likely being WELCOMED IN along our southern border…
It’s well-known that Timothy Simpkins was merely going to 7-Eleven to get some Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea…. he was also about to enter Princeton on a scholar-sheeeeep….. the rest is just “white supremacy”… ****eyeroll****
Want to see Liberals’ heads blow up?
Suggest that as a condition of being released from jail/prison/police custody, that they MUST be VACCINATED!
Watch their Liberal heads explode, as they try to justify the Vaccine Mandate for ALL OF US, but NOT for criminal suspects!
Some judge, here in ohio, did JUST THAT…
They had to let him out to make room for all those “domestic terrorist” parents out there commiting the the much more dangerous crime of speaking at school board meetings!
The family posted a video of him at a family party. While his victim is in the hospital fighting for his life. That’s cold!!. The teacher he shot wasn’t bullying him. The video says a lot about him and his family.
I’ve yet to see a single news article, explaining, WHERE he got his pistol he used from?
Bullies understand one thing and one thing only, getting mashed in the face. I can cite 5 times where a bully was bullying someone and that someone put the hurt on the bully. The lowlife, probably Democrat leftist coward, immediately backed down and became feeble. In all of those instances, the coward bullies never started anymore trouble.
Black privilege ???