DALLAS – The 17-year-old accused of injuring four people at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas reportedly fled the campus after the shooting and flagged down a stranger for a ride.
Tracy Haynes Jr. turned himself in to police late Tuesday and is now in the Dallas County jail.
School Shooting Suspect’s Getaway
Witness account:
Milton Nieto said he had no idea that the teen who asked him for help on Tuesday afternoon was a school shooting suspect who was on the run.
Their encounter was on Pleasant Run, which is a few miles away from Wilmer-Hutchins High School. Nieto did not know that there had been a shooting at the school 30 minutes earlier.
“As I was crossing the railroad track, there was a young man that looked like he was in distress – panicking, waving cars down,” he said.
Nieto decided to help the 17-year-old, whom he later learned was Haynes.
“He got in the truck and said he had just been in a wreck. I did confirm. I looked to the right, and there was a wrecked vehicle on the railroad tracks. ‘I need to get to my dad,’ is what he said. ‘Help me out, please,’” he said. “He’s a young man. He’s in distress. He needs to get to his father. He’s scared. Be probably doesn’t know to call for an emergency is what I thought.”
Related
At least four people were hurt in a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas. The 17-year-old suspect turned himself in to police on Tuesday night.
The teen told Nieto his father was about a block away. But then his story changed, and he asked to go to Waxahachie.
“Someone finally sent him an address, and he said this is where I need to go,” he recalled.
Nieto took Haynes as far as a gas station on Ovilla Road in Red Oak. As he was leaving, he saw Haynes getting another ride.
Nieto called the police to let them know what had happened as a precaution.
Four hours later, Nieto saw FOX 4’s news story where Dallas ISD officials revealed the shooter was still on the loose. That’s when things started to click.
Nieto said he called Lancaster police back to share the details of his encounter once again. Officers came to his office to show him a photo of the suspect.
“Once I saw the photo, my heart started beating a million miles an hour,” he said.
Now he’s just grateful that things hadn’t taken a more dangerous turn.
School Shooting Suspect’s Arrest
What we know:
Haynes finally turned himself in outside the Dallas County jail at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. Video of the surrender was captured by social media livestream Smash Da Topic.
He was booked in and charged with four counts of aggravated assault in a mass shooting, which is a first-degree felony. His bond was set at $600,000 — $150,000 per count.
Related
A 17-year-old turned himself in after a mass shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School that left at least 4 students injured. Police released new details, saying he was let in through an unsecured door before opening fire.
Haynes’ arrest warrant affidavit states that police have security video that shows an unknown student letting him into the school around 1 p.m. through an unsecured door.
The video shows him walking down the hallway and encountering a group of male students. That’s when he pulls out a gun and begins shooting “indiscriminately.”
He then approached one student who was unable to run away, and shot him at point-blank range, according to the report.
Security Questions Remain
What we don’t know:
Officials have not yet released any information about Haynes’ whereabouts between the time Nieto dropped him off in Red Oak and the time he turned himself in.
Dallas ISD hasn’t said whether he is a student at Wilmer-Hutchins High School, or if they’ve received information as to why he brought the gun to the school.
The school district also hasn’t responded to questions about who propped open the door for Haynes or if that student is facing charges.
There’s no word on why it took police four hours to inform the public that the shooter was on the loose or how they knew the campus would be safe for parents to reunite with their children.
The Source: The information in this story comes from an interview with Milton Nieto, who gave the suspect a ride, Dallas ISD, the Dallas Police Department, and Dallas Fire-Rescue. Some details in this story are also from Tracy Haynes’ arrest warrant affidavit.
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