One student is dead and another injured after a shooting outside Lamar High School in Arlington Monday morning, the school district and police said.
Police say they received multiple reports of shots fired outside the school around 6:55 a.m. Monday. Arlington Police Chief Al Jones told reporters that video from the scene shows two unidentified students — one male one female — outside on the school steps when the shooting occurred.
The male student was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died. A female student was grazed on the cheek by shrapnel, and taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries by a nearby adult, according to police.
Jones said video footage showed the shooter, who was also a student, fleeing the scene. He was later arrested.
“As a dad, I was disturbed, because it’s a kid,” Jones said. “This is what I would say was a very senseless act of violence.”
A witness called 911 and gave a description of the shooter, the chief said. When police arrived, he said they found the shooter and took him into custody.
The shooting occurred before school was scheduled to begin, and many students had not yet arrived on campus before the shots were fired, police said. An armed school resource officer was scheduled to be on campus at 7 a.m. — shortly after the shooting occurred, district officials said.
“Schools deserve to be a safe place for students to learn and to grow every day,” Arlington ISD Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos said. “Today we’re heartbroken.”
Principal Andrew Hagman says he feels "unfathomable remorse."
Police and school are not releasing ages/grade level at this time.
— Kailey Broussard (@KaileyBroussard) March 20, 2023
The high school remained on lockdown until around noon while police fully cleared the building. Students have since been released to their parents or guardians.
One of those parents was Kita Bowles, who said she got a text from her daughter around 7:15 a.m. telling her about the shooting.
"As a mom, I just started bawling,” Bowles said. “She's my only daughter, my only child, so I just started bawling and I just told my boss, ‘man I needed to leave and go get my baby.’"
Michael Price, who picked up his daughter from the school’s unification site in the athletic center, said he also learned about the shooting from his daughter, who was inside the building when the incident occurred.
“If it hadn’t been for her having a cell phone, I would have been having a heart attack the whole time, not knowing what was going on,” he said. “She’s the one who texted me and told me what was going on, so right away, I knew that she was safe.”
The school will be closed Tuesday, and AISD counselors will be on site Thursday to support students and staff.
“The fact that the kids had to respond as quickly as they did to such a tragedy and to such an urgent situation, I’m just beyond grateful and I’m beyond thankful,” said Lamar Principal Andrew Hagman. “They followed our instructions, they listened to APD and our staff, and I’m thankful they are safe today.”
My prayers are with the students injured in the shooting that took place this morning at Lamar High School.
Please know that my office has contacted the Arlington Police Department, the City of Arlington, and Arlington ISD to learn more about what took place. pic.twitter.com/AxAg248TK9
— Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons (@CommALSimmons) March 20, 2023
This is a developing story and will be updated.
9(MDAyMTgwNzc5MDEyMjQ4ODE4MjMyYTExMA001))