Texas high school shooter Timothy Simpkins was found guilty of attempted capital murder Thursday for a 2021 shooting that injured three people.
According to Fox 4, the jury deliberated for most of the day Thursday in the trial of Simpkins for the Oct. 6, 2021 shooting at Timberview High School in Arlington, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Before the case was handed to the jury, the defense and prosecutors argued over whether self-defense could be considered as a justification for the shooting. But late Wednesday, the judge decided it could not and ordered the jury to not consider it.
The shooting occurred in a classroom after Simpkins and another student got into a fight. At one point, a then-18-year-old Simpkins drew a weapon and started shooting. A 15-year-old student and a 25-year-old teacher were shot and a female student was grazed by a bullet. A pregnant woman at the scene was injured in a fall in the ensuing chaos.
Simpkins turned himself in to authorities later that day after fleeing the scene and was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a gun. He was released from Tarrant County Jail after paying a $75,000 bond.
Several days later, civil rights attorney Kim Cole said the incident was not a “standard-issue school shooting.”
Simpkins’ family told NBC-DFW her son was often bullied and had been robbed twice at the school.
The punishment phase for the trial will begin Friday morning, with Simpkins potentially facing up to 20 years in prison.
