The family of a student accused of shooting up a Texas high school is asking for forgiveness.
Timothy George Simpkins, 18, a student at Timberview High School in Arlington, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after turning himself.
“He was robbed. It was recorded. It happened not just once, it happened twice. He was scared, he was afraid,” Carol Harrison-Lafayette told reporters.
His cousin, Cint Wheat, wrote on social media, “It could have been a decision that he could have committed suicide… he was trying to protect himself. They were blessed financially,” per Daily Mail.
“We have to take a look at the fact that bullying is real. And it takes us all. And I do apologize. We ask as a family for forgiveness of any type of hurt,” Harrison-Lafayette said. The family said that the bullying had been reported to teachers and principals.
Timothy has not spoken publicly about the alleged shooting.