Student dies after shooting at Arlington Lamar High School; suspect arrested, police say

Waiting before sunrise for their classes to start, the victims were sitting close to the outdoor school steps on the east side of the building when they were shot.

A teenage boy was taken to a hospital and died there. The cheek of a girl near him was grazed by a bullet.

The assailant who opened fire on them early Monday outside Lamar High School in Arlington also attends classes at the school, police said.

All are under 17 years old, Arlington police said.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released the name of the homicide victim.

Detectives believe the suspect did not intend to shoot more people at the school and that he targeted at least one of the victims, said Officer Jesse Minton, an Arlington police spokesperson. The suspect fired two rounds about 6:55 a.m., Minton said.

Police did not describe a motive for the killing, which was recorded by a surveillance video camera.

The suspect ran from the scene and was arrested as officers arrived at the school.

The shots were fired about five minutes before two Arlington Police Department school resource officers who are assigned to the school arrived to begin their shift.

The suspected shooter never entered the school Monday, police said.

The suspect was taken to a juvenile detention facility and he is expected to face a capital murder charge, police said. Because he is a juvenile, police declined to release his name, exact age or grade level. Officers found the gun they said was used in the shooting. Police declined to describe the gun.

Lamar High was locked down after the shooting.

“We prepare for incidents like this, but it is impossible to prepare for the emotion,” Arlington ISD Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos said at a press conference. “We are heartbroken.”

Arlington ISD about 7:30 a.m. sent a message to people connected to the school, notifying them of the shooting and lockdown.

Parents were urged to stay away from the campus at 1400 W. Lamar Blvd. while the police investigation was underway. Classes and extracurricular activities were canceled through Tuesday.

Department protocol calls for officers to search an entire school before lifting a lockdown, police said. About 10 a.m., police said the search was complete.

After the lockdown was cleared, students and staff inside the building were sent home for the remainder of the day, the district said. Parents waited for their children at the district’s athletics center, at 1001 E. Division St., where buses full of students arrived around noon and kids were released one by one.

Monday was students’ first day back on campus after a week off for spring break. Classes were scheduled to begin at 7:35, according to the school’s website. Not all students had arrived on campus when the shooting occurred.

Melody Fowler, president of the Arlington ISD school board, said the district recently installed more sophisticated metal detectors at entrances to school buildings. But she acknowledged those detectors can’t prevent someone from bringing a gun into an outdoor area of a school campus. She said she did not know what policy the board could enact to prevent something similar in the future.

“We beg our parents to keep their firearms locked up... not letting any of their children have access to any guns that may be in the home,” she said. “But, of course, we can’t monitor every home to make sure that that’s being done.”

Police Chief Al Jones said the department extends “our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to all the students and staff at Lamar High School. We, as a community, cannot tolerate this kind of violence. We need gun owners to be responsible and to properly secure their firearms, so they don’t end up on our school campuses. We will continue to work in lock step with our partners at Arlington ISD to ensure our schools are safe spaces where students can learn.”

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Star-Telegram staff writers Silas Allen and Abby Church contributed to this report.