Student arrested after 1 killed, 1 injured outside Arlington high school: WFAA

EDITOR'S NOTE: Like 25 News in Waco, WFAA in Dallas is an ABC affiliate

UPDATE

From WFAA

ARLINGTON, Texas — An Arlington Independent School District student has been arrested and charged with capital murder after fatally shooting one student and injuring another outside a high school early Monday morning, police announced.

Arlington ISD officials and police said Lamar High School was placed on lockdown for several hours due the a shooting.

Officer Jesse Minton with Arlington police said they received multiple calls at 6:55 a.m. about shots fired on campus, outside of the school building.

Minton said one Arlington ISD student was shot and was taken to a hospital by ambulance in critical condition. The Arlington Police Department (APD) announced during a press conference Monday afternoon that the student died from their injuries. The student's name has not been released at this time.

Another student was injured and taken to a hospital by her parent, police said. Her injury is not life-threatening.

The Arlington scene was secured by 10:40 a.m., and the suspected shooter was taken custody. APD said the suspect has been charged with capital murder and more charges may be added. A weapon was also recovered.

APD said the suspect never entered the school, and that all students involved in Monday's shooting attended Lamar High School. Police said the students are all under 17 years old.

"Having our school resource officers there I think made a big difference into how quickly we were able to respond and know what was going on to make this as safe as possible, as soon as possible," said Officer Minton.

One Twitter user near the campus posted video of police activity at the school shortly after the shooting was reported.

All students that were on campus were taken by bus to the Arlington ISD Athletics Center on 1001 East Division Street. Parents and guardians were allowed to start picking up students at noon on Monday.

Parent Kita Bowles said she was working when she received a text from her child about the lockdown. She said her daughter went into a classroom for the lockdown soon after she got off of her bus.

"As a mom, my heart just kind of broke. I'm glad she's OK, but I'm also worried and praying for the other kids," Bowles said. "I had to leave work. I had tears in my eyes, and my boss couldn't really understand what I was saying, but I told him, 'I had to go. There was a shooting at my child's school.'"

Police detectives, school resource officers and AISD will continue to investigate this shooting.

During a press conference held Monday afternoon, Arlington ISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos said he and the staff at Lamar High are heartbroken over the incident and that the school will be closed Tuesday, March 21.

Officer Minton credited the school district and campus officers for their immediate response to the situation.

Minton also said it would be more helpful if people alert authorities of any threats.

There's no information suggesting that the shooting was publicly known ahead of time, he said. But if there was, he noted, Arlington police has specialists that look for threats posted online.

"If we find out tomorrow that somebody was like, 'Oh, I had heard something like that might happen, but I didn't want to say anything' -- that's the problem," Minton said. "We know before it happens so we can respond and have the information we need."

The motive behind the shooting is also unclear, but police believe it may have been targeted.

This story is developing and will be updated when more information is available.

ORIGINAL STORY

By Joel Leal / 25 News

Lamar High School is currently on lockdown due to a shooting, officials said.

As first published by WFAA, the lockdown began about 7:30 a.m. this morning.

Officials said the shooting occurred on campus, outside of a school building.

It's being reported that two students were injured and required medical treatment, according to the school district.

The Arlington Fire Department reports that their current condition remains unknown at this time.

Both Arlington ISD and police say the scene is secure and that the suspect has since been placed into custody.

Officials are asking the public to avoid the area as their investigation continues. However, they do not believe there to still be an active threat to the public.

Officials also said that upon the lockdown being lifted, all students and staff will be sent home earlier.

Today marked the first day back to class at Arlington ISD following its spring break holiday.