An 18-year-old student was shot and killed outside Bowie High School in Arlington Wednesday afternoon and the alleged shooter is in custody, police said.
Arlington police officers were on the scene around 3 p.m., toward the end of the school day, after reports of shots fired outside the school. That’s where police say they found 18-year-old Etavion Barnes shot five or six times and tried to perform life-saving measures before an ambulance arrived and rushed him to a nearby hospital. Barnes was later pronounced dead, according to Arlington Police Chief Al Jones.
The 17-year-old alleged shooter tried to flee the campus but was caught and arrested, police said.
On Thursday morning, police identified the alleged shooter as Julian Howard. He was booked into the Arlington City Jail on one count of murder. Based off of an initial investigation, police believe Howard and Barnes knew each other.
Jones called on the community to lock up their firearms and report concerns to prevent violence on campus.
“We cannot tolerate this kind of violence in our community,” he told reporters Wednesday night. “We can’t tolerate this violence in our neighborhoods and we certainly won’t tolerate it in our schools.”
All classes at the school were canceled Thursday and the schedule for Friday will be determined later. The district will provide counseling services when they resume, Arlington ISD Superintendent Matt Smith said.
“Honestly, I’m at a loss for words tonight by the tragedy at Bowie High School this afternoon,” Smith said. “Schools are supposed to be a place of learning and growth, and this afternoon that was interrupted by senseless violence.”
Police began releasing the students and staff who were locked down in classrooms inside the school around 5:40 p.m. All were bussed to a reunification site for students and families at the Arlington ISD Athletics Center on 1001 E. Division Street, police said.
Tierra Long, a parent of a ninth grader at Bowie, said she “lost it” when she heard about the shooting because her son wasn’t answering his phone. Long was later able to get in contact with him, but she said she probably would not send him back to Bowie High School next year.
“It’s really sad that the kids can’t even go to school and get an education anymore without something like this happening,” she said.
Long was waiting outside the Arlington ISD Athletics Center Wednesday afternoon alongside others waiting for students to be released from the school.
Sergio Acosta’s daughter is a senior at Bowie. He heard about the shooting from his wife.
Waiting for her outside the designated reunification center, Acosta said he was stressed because he knew the situation would not help with his daughter’s anxiety problems.
“I was sad and mad at the same time because it shouldn’t be happening,” Acosta said about getting the call about the shooting. “It shouldn’t be happening. Especially, you know, at school.”
For parent Judith Mings, the shooting was a tragic reminder of how common school shootings have become. Asked how she would talk to her 11th-grade son about the shooting, she said it’s a conversation they have regularly.
“When did it happen last, two weeks ago in Dallas?” Mings said, referring to an April 12 shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in which a student was shot in the leg. “I mean, we talk about it all the time. You can only pray that nothing happens to your child.”
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