An 18-year-old male student was fatally shot outside Bowie High School in Arlington, sparking an urgent response from authorities and leaving a community in grief. The victim, identified as Etavion Barnes, was found unresponsive by officers who were responding to a shots-fired call around 2:50 p.m. yesterday, according to information obtained by KENS 5.
In the chaos that followed the shooting, police promptly arrested 17-year-old student Julian Howard and charged him with murder, Arlington Jail records revealed, as classes were cancelled Thursday in the shooting's aftermath, a grim pause for a school meant to be sanctuary of learning, this was highlighted in statements shared by Arlington Police Chief Al Jones and Arlington ISD Superintendent Dr. Matt Smith, as per WFAA.
Chief Jones expressed his heartache over the tragedy and stressed the intolerable nature of such violence in schools and neighborhoods, saying, "We will continue to work in lock step with our partners at Arlington ISD to ensure our schools are safe spaces where students can learn," as reported by KENS 5. Dr. Smith echoed the sentiment, stating, "Schools are supposed to be a place of learning and growth and this afternoon, it was interrupted by senseless violence."
A reunification center was established at the Arlington ISD Athletics and Aquatics Center to reconnect students with their families, while police managed the painstaking process of the school's lockdown for three hours, and overflow parking was available at lot 11 at AT&T Stadium, authorities informed the worried parents awaiting to embrace their children after the harrowing event.
Residents and students in the vicinity were left shaken by the shooting, with a mother describing her daughter's fear during the ordeal and her relief at her safety, noting that schools should be free of such events, and a student only a month shy of graduation lamenting the loss of security she once felt within her school's walls. The tragedy at Bowie High School raises fresh questions about school safety, especially in light of Texas' recent school safety law and the limited funding allocated for security measures.
