18-year-old Timothy Simpkins is suspected of shooting a fellow student and a teacher, nearly killing them.
The incident occurred at Timberview High School in Arlington, Texas.
The victims were left in critical condition from multiple gunshot wounds. One of the victims was just 15 years old.
While 15-year-old Zacchaeus Selby remained in critical condition, a fundraiser was set up online for the alleged shooter.
Reports say those behind setting up the fundraiser included Dallas attorney Kim T. Cole and several of Simpkins’ friends and relatives.
Simpkins quickly received bad news as the fundraiser was shut down by the website hosting it.
The alleged shooter’s mother Katrina Simpkins says the fundraiser was meant to help Timothy after the “traumatic” experience.
“Many of you have seen the video of the brutal beating Timothy Simpkins received,” Simpkins’ mother Katrina wrote on the fundraiser.
“He never even returned a blow. He simply balled up and covered his head trying to protect himself,” she continued.
“What you don’t know is that Timothy was robbed at gunpoint and stripped of his possessions a couple of weeks ago,” she said.
“And the unfortunate backstory is that Timothy’s father was brutally beaten to death,” she added.
“This fact definitely heightened Timothy’s fear for his life.”
She concluded, “Not to mention that the young man responsible for beating and harassing him made had recently made threats to kill him so you see, my son was terrified and believed he would be murdered just like his father.”
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Asking $25,000, the fundraiser was only able to raise about $150 of its target goal before being shut down by GoFundMe.
“The fundraiser was removed from the platform because it violated GoFundMe Terms of Service,” a spokesperson told the Daily Mail, adding that all donations had been refunded.
Despite the heinous nature of his alleged crime, Simpkins was let out on only $75,000 bail to a jubilant family.
But while his relatives celebrated his release and said he was “not no bad kid,” the move angered many across the nation.
Many compared the light treatment to that of Kyle Rittenhouse, who was forced to pay $2 million in bail to see freedom, despite apparently defending himself from multiple armed assailants during the violent Kenosha, Wisconsin, riots.
Simpkins faces three charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Despite the charges, it appears at least one of his alleged victims will live with the consequences of the shooting for the rest of his life.
Thankfully, while Simpkin’s fundraiser was shut down, Selby’s is still going strong.
The fundraiser for Selby has brought in more than $5,000, which puts it over halfway to its $10,000 goal. His GoFundMe aims to help pay medical and legal expenses, and can be found here.
