Initially, Timothy Simpkins was described as a school shooter.
I had a feeling there was more to the story because typically, black kids are not school shooters. When Simpkins was given bail, my suspicions were confirmed.
This wasn’t a school shooting. This was self-defense and preservation.
The Facebook post attested to Simpkins’ character, saying that their son was painted as a “menace to our society and nothing could be further from the truth.”
“He has never been known to bother anyone and would do anything to help someone in need,” the post says. “From the beginning of this school year, Timothy has been bullied at school. He has been beaten, taunted, and harassed on a daily basis,” the post read. “Recently he was ambushed by a group of young males outside of school, stripped of his clothing in front of a crowd of onlookers, and robbed of his money and possessions. He has been humiliated and stripped of his dignity on more than one occasion which led to him being fearful to go to school or even leave our home without an adult.”
The family also added that Simpkins’ father was “brutally beaten to death,” and that it “definitely heightened Timothy’s fear for his life.”
“Many of you have seen the video of the brutal beating Timothy received — he never even returned a blow — he simply balled up and covered his head,” the family’s statement said, referencing video of the fight that preceded the shooting. “Not to mention that the young men responsible for beating and harassing him recently made threats to kill him so you see, my son was terrified and believed he would be murdered just like his father.”
Simpkins didn’t shoot four people, as the media reported. Simpkins shot the boy that was bullying him, the teacher that was trying to break them up was accidentally shot, a stray bullet grazed another student, and a teacher fell down.
There is a good case for self-defense, and the school should be ashamed of themselves for not nipping this in the bud.
Flip the page for Simpkins getting bullied and getting out on bail.