WACO, Texas — The Timberview High School football team, parents and fans traveled south Friday night to see the Wolves play the Waco University High Trojans, and it was a trip that many didn't know they needed.
On Wednesday, gunfire erupted on the Timberview High School campus, which is within the Mansfield Independent School District. It sent Arlington into a frenzy as parents rushed to the school to pick up their kids, praying they weren't harmed.
Investigators with the Arlington Police Department revealed Wednesday while the campus was being secured that no one was killed.
The department also said the shooting was sparked by a fight between 15-year-old Zacchaeus Selby and the alleged shooter, 18-year-old Timothy Simpkins.
A 25-year-old English teacher, Calvin Pettit, was also shot and hospitalized but is doing OK.
Simpkins now faces three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and has been released on bond.
Police say a video shows Simpkins and Selby fighting before the shooting. In it, you can see Simpkins being slammed to the ground and covering his face as he's being hit.
Selby's mother confirmed her son is also in the video, which is now part of Arlington PD's investigation into what led up to the shooting. Students reported that after the fighting started, multiple shots were fired towards Selby.
Simpkins' attorney Kim Cole and family members told WFAA Thursday that the 18-year-old had been bullied and even robbed by Selby.
"This was not someone who was out to go and shoot up a school," Cole said.
"There's a distinction between a mass shooter or a mass shooting. These are people who are out to harm multiple people, and that's not what happened here."
Cole said self-defense would likely be part of the criminal proceedings.
Selby's grandmother, Kathy Selby, told WFAA that the pair had been feuding for weeks and that Selby was jumped by one of Simpkins' friends recently. WFAA is working to verify that claim.
Mansfield ISD has not commented on Simpkins' relationship with Selby but said they were investigating what led up to the shooting along with the police.
Both families said school officials knew of the feud yet allowed Simpkins and Selby to be in the same class.
Kathy Selby told WFAA Thursday night, "They're making Simpkins out to be the victim."
"My grandson is in the ICU--shot four times. My grandson is the victim," Selby said.
'It was a lot to go through Wednesday'
WFAA talked with so many parents Wednesday who were eager to find out if their children were OK.
Many fathers and mothers who raced to the campus were at the game Friday night.
John Voa's son, Tristan, plays guard on the football team and says Tristan took shelter when he heard the gunfire.
"We started a group text with his mom and just stayed in touch," Voa said.
"When I got to him, I hugged him with my arms and just didn't want to let go, and we shared a few tears here and there, and it was definitely a moment for me."
Voa was just happy to be focusing on something else other than what happened on Wednesday.
"The whole community came together on this one," Voa said. "I'm just glad we're all here tonight."
A similar feeling was felt by Scott and Jojo Marshall. Their son Jaeden is one of the quarterbacks on the team and was across the hall from the classroom where the shooting took place.
"Jaeden called me and told me she heard 5 or 6 shots outside the classroom and that they were barricading the door," Scott Marshall said.
"It was a lot to go through Wednesday. He knew the teacher who got shot," Jojo Marshall said. "The drive down here. I just tried to put it in the back of my mind and look forward to the game."
The game was an easy one for the Wolves. Timberview won 76-0.
Marshall said the students and players, even the parents, needed a win this week.
"For all of the kids and even us, it's about getting back to a routine that we know and expect."