‘COURAGE COST HIM HIS LIFE’

Texas Teen Shot Dead for Defending Classmate From Bully: Police

Police said they will prosecute whoever helped the 15-year-old middle schooler access a gun.

A 16-year-old Texas high school student was shot and killed Thursday for defending a classmate from a bully at school just days earlier, police said on Friday. Samuel Reynolds was allegedly shot on the grounds of the apartment complex where he lived. A suspect in his death, a 15-year-old middle schooler, is in police custody, CBS DFW reported. The flags have reportedly been lowered to half staff at Arlington High School, where Reynolds was a 10th grader. Police said that courage cost the teen his life. Security cameras from inside the Pinewoods Apartments building captured the 15-year-old pulling a .40 caliber gun and shooting Reynolds. “That’s something we want an answer for,” said Arlington police officer Christopher Cook, referencing who might have given the teen access to a gun. “We are sick and tired of children in our community coming in contact with firearms and possessing them and using them.” Police said they will prosecute the person who helped the 15-year-old access a gun. 

“This senseless act of gun violence has no place in society and our hometown community,” Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson said on Twitter. “This was an emotionally tough case for responding officers, investigators and medics. We will direct our attention to how a young teen suspect accessed a firearm used in the offense.”