On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, Timberview High School was faced with a situation we’ve all grown to fear: a school shooting. The shooting left students in dismay and shock, wondering how this could ever occur at their own school.

According to police reports, around 9 am, Timberview students first heard gunshots. At this point, not many of the staff or students knew what was occurring in the school, so the sound left them in a state of confusion and uncertainty. Timberview sophomore, Sophia Ho, was too shocked to even feel anything.

“When I heard of it, I wasn’t so sure if I was scared, I just felt like ‘Oh it’s happening,’ like these are the things we hear on the news, not something that we would experience. So I was confused about what I was supposed to be feeling,” said Ho.

Timberview sophomore, Sarah Adetosoye, knew something horrible was about to happen. 

“I was in my Algebra 2 class, and it was near the end around 9:00ish and my initial reaction was I’ve never heard anything like I did before then, but when I heard the gunshots everyone in my class knew it was real. It was really just a state of shock and adrenaline, so we all just knew that something was going wrong,” stated Adetosoye.

As in any situation similar to this, parents were extremely worried for their children. Long lines of cars filled with anxious parents wrapped around the school, all ready to make sure their child was safe. Adetosoye recalls her conversations with both of her parents via text, while she was still locked up in her classroom.

“I texted my mom first and I just told her ‘I heard gunshots, there’s a shooter, I’m safe in my room, and our door is locked,’ and she was texting me every five minutes asking how I was. And later she told me that she told my dad after maybe like 2 minutes when I sent my first text, and my dad immediately was like ‘Okay I’m going to the school.’ That’s when my dad started texting me saying ‘I’m on my way, are you okay?’ and of course I’m like ‘No please don’t come, there’s somebody in the school that can hurt you,’” said Adetosoye.

After the police were able to escort all students safely outside, Timberview students were taken to the Performing Arts Center where they were picked up. Ho recalls the extensive amount of time it took just for her to be able to go home with her dad.

“All the grades went into this big room and we were separated by grades and we were just sitting there waiting for our names to be called. Our parents had to show their id and show that they were in Skyward so that they could pick us up. So it took a really long time for each student to leave because outside there was a really long line of parents and cars,” said Ho.

Due to the many hours it took to get the police to clear out Timberview and for all the buses to arrive at the school, students were not able to get home until late in the evening. Timberview senior, Samantha Sarkodie, felt exhausted after the long day and needed some time to clear her mind.

“At the time it was definitely anxiety inducing, everything was hectic. The whole day was just crazy, as soon as I got home I slept. I really needed a break to calm down, but much like all the other students at the school, I kinda got over it. I don’t think I was affected too much mentally or physically, it was just like ‘Wow that really happened,’” said Sarkodie.

Considering how traumatic this incident continues to be for some of the Timberview community, the aftermath can affect many aspects of a school including how students interact, to just the atmosphere of their surroundings. Ho thinks that the shooting has affected Timberview in a way that has made students a bit more cautious of their surroundings. 

“The incident did change Timberview because my teachers are a little more cautious. There are more police officers on campus and when we hear a loud sound in the school the students are more alarmed by it,” said Ho.

Additionally, Adetosoye thinks that the teachers at Timberview have really made an effort to help students, while some are trying to cope in their own way. 

“From my experience going back, all the teachers have been great and trying to make sure we all feel fine. Of course you can’t linger over the fact that this happened, but everyone is still a little tense. Most people are coping with it with jokes and trying to lighten the mood, but then it’s also stressful when people purposely try to scare everybody,” said Adetosoye.

Contrary to Ho’s and Adetosoye’s similar beliefs, Sarkodie believes that most students at Timberview have moved on from this incident.

“Of course the whole school is decorated from different schools’ posters and people really appreciate it, but as for students at the school, I feel like everyone has moved on. It’s been almost 3 weeks now which, by all means, is not enough time but everyone at the school seems to not show it as much,” stated Sarkodie.

Although this incident has affected Timberview and MISD as a whole, it seems like the community is ready to grow and help prevent similar incidents from ever happening again.