ARTICLE UPDATE – 4/18/25:
The student who shot several classmates inside Wilmer-Hutchins High School on Tuesday was targeting a specific student, said to Dallas ISD Police Chief Albert Martinez.
An arrest affidavit states that 17-year-old Tracy Haynes parked his car outside the school just before 1 p.m. before being let into the building by another student at 1:01 p.m. Video surveillance shows he then walked down a hallway and approached a group of students before firing “indiscriminately.” Haynes then allegedly approached one of the students who was unable to run away and shot him at point-blank range.
“We do believe he went in there specifically targeting an individual, and that’s as deep as we’ll go with that,” said Martinez.
All victims are expected to make a full recovery.
Wilmer-Hutchins High School Shooting Suspect Let in Through Side Door
Martinez also confirmed law enforcement has identified the student who opened a side door to let Haynes into the school, noting the student will be interviewed to determine if he was acting as an accompliace and should face criminal charges, Fox 4 reports.
“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,” said Martinez. “And there’s a lot of entry doors into this high school.”
Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said the school’s side and back doors have to be unlocked on the inside for students but are locked from the outside.
School staff will monitor all doors for the remainder of the school year. Other solutions, such as buzzers to alert staff when doors are opened when they shouldn’t be, are being considered for next year.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE – 4/16/25:
DALLAS — Four students were shot and another was injured during a shooting Tuesday afternoon at Wilmer-Hutchins High School.
The shooting began just after 1 p.m., and an officer at the school responded within two minutes, according to Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde. Officers from numerous agencies responded shortly after. All of the victims, ages 15 to 18, were taken to local hospitals. The severity of the injuries range from non-life-threatening to serious, WFAA reports. A fifth student was not injured but suffered anxiety-related symptoms. Dallas Mayor Pro Temp Tennel Atkins said all of victims are expected to recover.
The 17-year-old student suspect, identified as Tracy Haynes, turned himself in at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center just after 9 p.m. Tuesday. Haynes was booked into the Dallas County Jail and his bond was set at $600,000. He has been charged with four counts of aggravated assault in a mass shooting, a first-degree felony.
Wilmer-Hutchins High School Uses Metal Detectors, Clear Backpacks
According to an arrest affidavit, surveillance video shows an unknown student letting Haynes into the school through an unsecured door. He then walked down the hallway where he encountered a group of students and “displayed a firearm and began firing at the students indiscriminately.” The affidavit says Haynes then approached one of the students who was unable to run away and shot him at point-blank range.
During a news conference at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dallas ISD Police Assistant Chief Christina Smith said the weapon used in the shooting did not enter the school during primary intake period. The school uses walk-through metal detectors in the morning, and students are only allowed to use clear backpacks.
“So it was not a failure of our staff, of our protocols, or of the machinery that we have,” said Dallas ISD Police Assistant Chief Christina Smith.
Students confirmed their backpacks were checked Tuesday morning and that metal detectors were functioning.
Wilmer-Hutchins High School Evacuated
Abby Falcon, a student at the school, told The Dallas Morning News that students rushed to close the door and huddled in the corner as shots rang out. Other students ran through the halls, she said.
Parent Sergio Campos, who is also a Wilmer City Council member, was at the school for a meeting with his child’s teacher when gunfire erupted. He told Fox 4 that he heard about seven gunshots and then saw two victims being carried outside. One of them appeared to have a leg injury.
“The kids were just running out, all of them just hundreds of kids running out,” he said.
Students were evacuated to nearby Wilmer-Hutchins Eagle Stadium where they were reunited with their guardians. Helicopter footage from the school showed dozens of students running from the school across a grassy area.
Classes have been canceled for the rest of the week and counselors will be made available for students. Classes will resume on April 22.
Nearby Wilmer-Hutchins Elementary School was placed on lockdown during the shooting. The school will remain open this week with increased police presence.
Second Shooting in a Year at Wilmer-Hutchins High School
Tuesday’s incident is the second shooting at the school in just over a year. On April 12, 2024, a student was shot inside a classroom in a targeted attack stemming from a dispute, according to CBS News. After the shooting, students participated in a walkout to protest a failure in campus security.
Parent Tara Dobbin said her oldest child was at Wilmer-Hutchins during last year’s shooting and that her youngest was there on Tuesday. He jumped out of a classroom window after he heard gunshots and ran to a nearby elementary school.
“This is going on too much at this school,” she told KXAS-TV. “Last year, my oldest son was a senior here, and there was a shooting. Now he’s here with same thing going on. It’s ridiculous.”
Other parents have voiced frustration with the level of security at the school, noting they do not feel safe with the current protocols in place.
“I’m thinking about taking them and putting them in homeschool,” said parent Shauna Williams. “I can’t keep going through this as a parent. I’m telling you. It’s very frightening to think about losing your child, your kids. This is terrible.”
Several weeks following the incident, district officials said the student’s bag wasn’t properly checked by staff. Dallas ISD leaders said they would increase personnel during arrival and dismissal, retrain staff on backpack searches and metal detectors, and change schedules to make more people available to monitor students.
Parent Danielle Curtis pulled her daughter from Wilmer-Hutchins High School following the 2024 shooting.
“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.”
