Arlington deadly school shooting: Students, parents react

ARLINGTON, Texas — Marti Sanchez walked out of the Arlington Athletics Center hugging her granddaughter, Emily. She’s a freshman at Lamar High School.

Emily texted her grandmother about gunfire out of doors the school Monday morning.

“I was just texting her, back and forth, back and forth, we were texting, so, I was a little bit at ease, the minute I saw her, my heart just dropped,” Sanchez mentioned.

Around 6:55 a.m., Arlington police were given calls a few taking pictures out of doors the school.

Arlington Police Chief Al Jones introduced the dying of the taking pictures sufferer all through a 2 p.m. news convention to replace their investigation. 

According to Jones, a guardian out of doors the school transported the second one scholar hit by means of shrapnel to the sanatorium. 

Officers recovered a weapon, arrested one scholar and put the school on lockdown.

Some of the scholars shared the dreaded moments surrounding the incident as they had been being picked up early for the day.

Stephanie Escamilla is a freshman at Lamar High School. She had simply cleared the safety take a look at and entered the development when the taking pictures took place out of doors. 

She noticed somebody at the floor however did not assume it used to be a major subject. 

“I thought they were like passed out or something, because it didn’t seem that bad because two people were covering it, the principal and a police officer,” mentioned Escamilla.

Lamar High School freshman Wilber Rodriguez had additionally simply arrived to school, went within after which discovered one thing dangerous took place out of doors.

Rodriguez mentioned, “When we got off the bus they told us to go into a classroom and then my friends started texting me that someone had got shot.”

As crime scene staff amassed proof, parents coated up out of doors the Athletics Center to pick out up their kids.

Smith’s son referred to as her seconds after the taking pictures.

Smith used to be so determined to verify her son used to be protected she used a ride-share app to get to the Athletics Center. When she arrived she discovered her son used to be nonetheless ready to board the school bus on the prime school to be transported to the guardian pick-up spot.

“He was a little shaken up. He didn’t see the shooter, but he saw the guy fall, the one that got hit,” Smith mentioned.

The Arlington ISD superintendent canceled school for Tuesday at Lamar High School. Counselors can be to be had beginning Wednesday and can stay to be had to scholars, lecturers and body of workers so long as they’re wanted. 

Tuesday’s school closure will give households a possibility to procedure the deadly taking pictures at house. 

“This is my first time dealing with something like this,” mentioned Sanchez. “You don’t know now days, it can happen in a mall, it can happen in a grocery story, it can happen anywhere.”

“This is not the norm,” mentioned Charmeka Smith. “And we should not expect our kids to accept this behavior as the norm.”