ARLINGTON, Texas — An Arlington Independent School District student has been arrested and charged with capital murder after fatally shooting one male 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 his injuries.
The family of the victim confirmed with WFAA that his name is Jashawn Poirer, 16. They've created a GoFundMe account to help the with funeral expenses. Click here if you would like to donate.
Another female student, who police said was grazed by a bullet, was taken to a hospital by her parent. Her injury is not life-threatening.
Arlington Police Chief Al Jones said the suspect took off after the shooting, and witnesses helped police locate him. He confirmed the male juvenile suspect is charged with capital murder and additional charges are pending. The suspect is being held at the Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center.
Jones said there is video of the incident, and it seems like the victims were sitting around waiting for school to start when the shooting happened. A motive is unknown at this time.
The Arlington scene was secured by 10:40 a.m.
"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.
Ja’kadyn Williams, a student at Lamar High School, said he and his cousin, Shkayla Barnes, got to school early. They said an officer rushed them into a classroom, and a teacher barricaded the door.
Williams said, “I feel that I was protected because I know the teacher who was my first period teacher. I felt like he was going to be there if I needed help.”
Barnes said, “They did everything to keep us safe.”
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 Arlington ISD will continue to investigate this shooting.
During the press conference, Arlington ISD Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos said he and the staff at Lamar High are heartbroken over the incident.
Lamar High School Principal Andrew Hagman described losing one of the students at his school.
“Unfathomable remorse to just think that a young life was lost in such a senseless fashion,” he said. “It’s incredible when it happens right at your doorstep. I’m just still numb.”
Hagman said the he is grateful no other students or staff members were injured. He said everyone responded as well as they could in an urgent situation.
Note: The following video was uploaded Monday evening.
The high school will remain closed Tuesday, March 21. Counselors will be available when students return to school on Wednesday.
Officer Minton credited the school district and campus officers for their immediate response to the situation. He 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."
This story is developing and will be updated when more information is available.
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