Wilmer-Hutchins High School will be closed Wednesday and for the rest of the week after a shooting occurred on the campus Tuesday afternoon, injuring at least four students and sending dozens of others scrambling for safety.
Related:Suspect in shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas arrested
Dallas schools Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said the campus, located in the in the 5500 block of Langdon Road, will be closed Wednesday and Thursday as a result of the incident. Dallas ISD already had a previously scheduled districtwide closure for Friday and next Monday.
The four victims hurt during Tuesday’s incident, with their ages ranging between 15-18, were taken to area hospitals for treatment, Dallas Fire-Rescue officials said. Their injuries ranged in severity from non-life-threatening to serious, according to city officials. No further updates were available as of Tuesday evening.
Receive our in-depth coverage of education issues and stories that affect North Texans.
A 17-year-old suspect, identified as Tracy Haynes, was booked late Tuesday night into the Dallas County jail around 9:30 p.m. He is facing a charge of aggravated assault mass shooting, according to online jail records.
It was not immediately clear if the teen has retained a lawyer.
The afternoon gunfire occurred barely a year after the last shooting incident took place at the same high school. Last year around this time, a student brought a gun to the campus and shot another student in the leg.
Related:Student shot, wounded classmate at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas, officials say
The Monday after the incident, which occurred in a classroom, students staged a walk out and said they did not feel safe at school.
Multiple students said at the time that the school’s metal detectors are not regularly used and the school does not consistently enforce its clear bag policies, both points of frustration.
District leaders said they would increase personnel during arrival and dismissal, retrain staff on backpack searches and metal detectors, as well as revamp schedules to make more people available to monitor students.
However, a year later, students still are not feeling safe on the campus.
Sevynn Jones, a senior at Wilmer-Hutchins, was part of a large group of students waiting at the school stadium to be picked up by parents after the incident happened Tuesday.
As Jones walked away from the stadium with her family, she said she didn’t know how to feel. As a senior, Jones hopes that the incident won’t jeopardize or delay graduation plans.
“It’s not really a safe school to go to,” she said. “I wouldn’t even recommend going to this school because we don’t have like good security.”
Danielle Curtis’ daughter was scrolling on her phone Tuesday afternoon when she turned to her mother and said: “Oh no, it’s another shooting. A shooting at Hutch again.”
It transported Curtis back to a year ago. On April 12, 2024, her daughter was at Wilmer-Hutchins High when one student shot another in a classroom.
Curtis said she didn’t feel the district took campus safety seriously enough after the incident. She wasn’t surprised to learn it happened again.
“I pray for the families that are affected, and I hope and pray no one is seriously injured,” she said. “But here we are again. Same time of year, same thing.”
Curtis pulled her daughter out of DISD after last year’s shooting. The girl still has friends on campus and is terrified for their safety.
However, Elizalde said during a news conference Tuesday evening that the district’s primary concern is to continue providing support and ensuring schools are safe.
Staff writers Julia James, Alex Nguyen and Talia Richman contributed to this report.
