Student charged with 3 counts of aggravated assault in Arlington high school shooting

The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday charged an 18-year-old student at an Arlington high school with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a shooting in a classroom in October.

Timothy Simpkins was arrested on suspicion of that crime in the hours after the shooting on Oct. 6 at Timberview High School in the Mansfield Independent School District.

Simpkins was in a classroom when another student, Zacchaeus Selby, 15, walked in and started to fight with Simpkins, witnesses said, according to an arrest warrant affidavit supporting Simpkins’ arrest.

Video of the fight shows Simpkins bent over as Selby strikes him. Teachers and coaches went to the room to break up the fight, according to the affidavit.

As the adults tried to contain the fight, Selby “stopped being combative,” according to the affidavit. As Selby was being restrained, Simpkins walked to his backpack, pulled out a handgun and shot Selby, according to the affidavit.

Selby survived, as did teacher Calvin Pettitt, 25, who also was shot. Another student was grazed by a bullet.

Police have said the fight was motivated by Simpkins’ involvement in high-risk activity that they have not described. Simpkins’ relatives have said that he was bullied since the beginning of the school year. He was beaten, taunted and harassed daily, the relatives have said.

This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 4:51 PM.

Emerson Clarridge

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

817-390-7935

Emerson Clarridge covers crime and other breaking news for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He works days and reports on law enforcement affairs in Tarrant County. He previously was a reporter at the Omaha World-Herald and the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York.