A jury in the trial of a former Mansfield ISD student accused of injuring three people in a shooting at Timberview High School in 2021 began deliberations Thursday.
Timothy Simpkins, 19, is charged with attempted capital murder and three counts of aggravated assault.
Both sides in the case gave closing arguments Thursday morning. Even though no one was killed in the shooting, prosecutors argued Simpkins had that goal in mind.
"He knew that there were other people in the classroom. It didn't matter," prosecuting attorney Rose Anna Salinas told jurors Thursday. "He knew people were running for their lives. It didn't matter. Because he continued to use that weapon."
Simpkins' lawyers have argued he had been bullied and did not intend to kill anyone at the school.
"They want you to believe that he got up that morning ... with the specific intent to go to Timberview High School to kill Zac, to kill Mr. Pettit, to kill Miss McNeely," said attorney Lesa Pamplin. "He did not. He absolutely did not."
Simpkins' lawyers also requested to include self-defense in the jury charge, which Judge Ryan Hill denied.
Several teachers, students and law enforcement officials testified about the shooting over the course of the trial.
According to witness testimony and camera footage, it began with a classroom fight initiated by fellow Timberview student Zacchaeus Selby, then 15, on the morning of Oct. 6, 2021.
Then-junior Shaniyah McNeely said Tuesday she was grazed by a bullet during the shooting. She said she initially began recording the fight like other students, but stopped when it "got too serious."
McNeely said the fight was over when Simpkins pulled out a gun. That's when she started running.
"When I was running, I felt a quick shot, it was really fast, it was just a really fast burn," she said. "And then that's when I stopped. But a teacher kept telling me, like, 'we got to go. We have to go.'"
Hallway camera footage played for the court Tuesday appears to show Simpkins shooting at Selby, who was also attempting to run away.
State prosecuting attorney Lloyd Whelchel said Thursday the evidence and testimony showed Simpkins intended to kill and terrorize those at the school.
"He tried to kill multiple people that day," Whelchel said. "Thank God he didn't. Don't reward him for being a bad shot."
In addition to Selby and McNeely, teacher Calvin Pettit was also injured and hospitalized. All have recovered.
Got a tip? Email Toluwani Osibamowo at tosibamowo@kera.org. You can follow Toluwani on Twitter @tosibamowo.
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