Arlington Lamar High School Shooting Victim Named by Family, Suspect Still Being Held

Editor's note, 3/22/23, 10:43 a.m.: This story has been updated to reflect a report from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office regarding Jashawn Poirier's cause of death.

The student killed in a shooting outside of Lamar High School in Arlington on Monday has been identified by his family, according to reports from The Dallas Morning News and WFAA. Jashawn Poirier, 16, is named in a GoFundMe campaign set up by someone named Na’Jai Jacob, who says they are Poirier’s cousin.

“Jashawn was a friendly, quiet kid. He made friends easily and had quite a few of them who loved him,” the GoFundMe page reads. “He enjoyed video games, football, sport outings and just hanging out with friends and family. This loss has taken a toll on our family and I know it hits hard for families that have been through this same situation.”

According to KTVT, the 15-year-old suspect, apprehended by police on high school grounds moments after the shooting occurred, attended a detention hearing today in Tarrant County. The suspect wiped away tears as the judge announced the decision to keep him detained on a charge of capital murder.

The KTVT reports noted, “The judge read aloud details from the police report, which said the boy was captured on surveillance video from two different angles, pulling a long gun out of a backpack and shooting toward a group of students just before 7 a.m. Monday.” The judge also read that the male victim was shot in the neck. In addition to the one student killed, a girl was struck by a bullet on the cheek but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

Although the police report read by the judge on Tuesday noted Poirier was shot in the neck, NBC 5 reported on Wednesday that "According to the medical examiner's report, Poirier's cause of death was shotgun wounds to his head and chest."

During a Monday afternoon press conference, Arlington Chief of Police Alexander Jones declined to name the suspect or victim because they are minors. Jones did confirm that the suspect and the victim were both students at Lamar High School. Jones said police are still investigating to determine the motive.

"I'm still numb, but I'm thankful more kids weren't hurt," Lamar Principal Andrew Hagman said during the Monday press conference, held outside on the campus of the high school.

The police say that school was not in session at the time of the shooting, and they believe the shooter did not enter the building. The shooter was taken into custody by school resource officers who were set to begin their shifts at 7 a.m., five minutes after the shooting took place. The campus was immediately placed under lockdown for police to conduct a search of the school.

Arlington police announced at 10:41 a.m. that the school lockdown had been lifted. Students were then bused to the designated reunification center at Arlington ISD Athletic Center on Division Street, where parents and guardians began picking up students at noon.

School was canceled at Lamar on Tuesday, and is set to resume on Wednesday.