DALLAS – The Wilmer-Hutchins High School community in Southeast Dallas received more answers about the second school shooting in just more than a year.
The Dallas ISD Police Department addressed the most recent shooting at a news conference on Thursday morning.
Dallas ISD Update on School Shooting
What’s new:
Dallas ISD officials confirmed that the suspected shooter,17-year-old Tracy Haynes Jr., is a student at Wilmer-Hutchins High School.
Police Chief Albert Martinez also confirmed that police have identified the student who opened a side door to let Haynes into the school.
That student will be interviewed to determine if he was acting as an accomplice or not.
Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said that the shooting appears to have been targeted and not random.
“What’s frustrating is that he was able. to come in through another door that yes, we patrol and we sweep that as well, but like everything else, we’re not able to be there right on that spot every single time. And there’s a lot of entry doors into this high school,” Chief Martinez said.
The superintendent said side and back doors have to be unlocked for students on the inside. However, they are locked from the outside.
To tackle that problem, the school will staff those doors for the remainder of the school year.
For next year, the district will consider adding a buzzer to doors to alert staff about doors that are opened when they’re not supposed to be.
That’s a solution that Santa Fe High School implemented after a school shooting there.
Wilmer-Hutchins High School Shooting
What we know:
The shooting happened around 1 p.m. on Tuesday and left four students with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, police reviewed security video that shows another student letting Haynes into the school through a side door.
Related
At least four people were hurt in a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas. The 17-year-old suspect turned himself in to police on Tuesday night.
Investigators said Haynes began firing at students in the hallway “indiscriminately.” He then approached one student who wasn’t able to run and appeared to take a point-blank shot.
Haynes fled the school after the shooting and was able to get a ride to Red Oak from an unsuspecting bystander.
He later turned himself in to the police after contacting Urban Specialists for help. The nonprofit organization works to curb gun violence and poverty.
Related
A 17-year-old turned himself in after a mass shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School that left at least 4 students injured. Police released new details, saying he was let in through an unsecured door before opening fire.
Antong Lucky said his group got a call from the suspect’s aunt and was able to make contact with Haynes.
“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to get killed. So I will turn myself in,” Lucky said. “He said there was back and forth of threats, threats that were going back and forth on his life from the other individuals, etc.”
Intake video shows the teen being booked into the Dallas County jail on four counts of aggravated assault in a mass shooting.
His bond was set at $600,000.
The Source: Information in this article comes from an arrest affidavit, Dallas police, Dallas ISD police, school officials, and past news coverage.
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