Texas School Shooting Suspect Was Bullied, Robbed Before Attack, Teen's Family Claims

The family of an 18-year-old Texas student suspected of injuring four people in a school shooting claimed that he had been bullied and was recently robbed.

Timothy George Simpkins was arrested Wednesday on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly opening fire at Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas. Authorities said Simpkins turned himself in to police following an hours-long manhunt after he fled the school. The teen was released the following day after his family posted a $75,000 bond.

Police said the shooting may have begun with a classroom fight, which was caught on video. They did not reveal a possible motive.

Simpkins' family claimed that he had been bullied over his financially "blessed" family, fancy clothes and $35,000 car and that the teen bought a handgun for protection. The 18-year-old lives in a $400,000 home with his grandmother, Lillie, and drives a 2018 Dodge Charger, the New York Post reported.

A cousin of the suspect, Clint Wheat, wrote on social media, "It could have been a decision that he could have committed suicide… he was trying to protect himself. They were blessed financially," according to the Daily Mail.

Wheat wrote on Facebook that "at the end of the day, my lil cousin was bullied. I don’t know [how] to feel about this, [but] he [is not a] bad kid."

A woman who identified herself as Simpkins' mother also claimed Wednesday that he was bullied at the school, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Carol Harrison-Lafayette, who said she's a family member speaking for the family, alleged that Simpkins was robbed before the attack happened.

"He was robbed," she said. "It was recorded. It happened not just once, it happened twice. He was scared, he was afraid."

"There is no justification of anybody … being hurt," she said, adding, "We have to take a look at the fact that bullying is real. And it takes us all. And I do apologize. We ask as a family for forgiveness of any type of hurt."

Four people were wounded in the shooting, including a 15-year-old boy who was critically injured and underwent surgery and a 25-year-old man who was hospitalized in good condition. Their conditions were not clear Thursday afternoon.

A teenage girl who suffered minor injuries was treated and released. A pregnant woman was treated at the school and was not taken to a hospital.

Arlington police confirmed two of the victims as Zacchaeus Selby and Calvin Pettitt.

The suspect's family said they are just glad that he did not take his own life over the alleged bullying.

"The decision he made, taking the gun, we’re not justifying that," Harrison-Lafayette said, as quoted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That was not right. But he was trying to protect himself. And so we hope that the police department does the investigation properly. There are going to be independent investigations that are going to be done as well so we can get to the bottom of really what happened."

Addressing the bullying allegations, Donald Williams, Mansfield Independent School District's associate superintendent of communications, said that the district is conducting a full investigation of the shooting and its cause.

"What I will say to that is we take the safety and security of our students in our faculty and staff seriously," he said.