An 18-year-old senior at Woodrow Wilson High School in East Dallas died Thursday after a gun discharged while students were handling it at a nearby park, prompting a temporary lockdown at the school and the arrest of a fellow student.
The victim, identified by the Dallas County Medical Examiner as Wornan Padilla Garcia, was a member of the school’s soccer team. He was transported to a hospital following the incident, but succumbed to his injuries, according to Dallas Independent School District officials.
The shooting occurred around 3:45 p.m. in the 100 block of South Glasgow Drive at Willis C. Winters Park, adjacent to the high school and close to the Santa Fe Trail.
Dallas police said three students were involved, with the firearm going off during play. A suspect, also a Woodrow Wilson student, was taken into custody, though no charges were immediately announced, and the individual’s name was withheld.
“It is, with great sorrow that we share. One of those students did pass away as a result of the injuries sustained,” said Robyn Harris, deputy chief of communications for the district, CBS News Texas reported.
Harris added that the deceased was an active participant on the soccer squad but declined to provide further personal details.
“A key player. It’s terrible that we lost him,” said Jackson Shull, a student at the school, per CBS. “Not just for the team or the sport of anything, but in general.”
Shull described seeing police vehicles arriving at the park during the lockdown.
“It’s always horrible when someone dies, but when it’s a kid,” he said. “And it’s for this reason. It’s just horrible.”
The high school, located across the street from the park, was placed under lockdown as investigators secured the area, focusing on a small black four-door vehicle parked beside a large white trailer in the lot. Students began being dismissed around 5 p.m.
At nearby J.L. Long Middle School, on the opposite side of the high school and farther from the scene, dismissal proceeded at the usual time, though aerial footage showed heavy traffic as parents arrived for pickups.
Parents expressed alarm upon learning of the events.
“I’ve just been contacting my daughter directly, and she said they’re not letting her go straight out through the park there, so people are funneling around it. But that’s the only direction I’ve heard. You can’t go straight through the park,” said Nathan Vaughn, a Woodrow Wilson parent, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
“I was just scared, panicked. I texted my kids. They were locked down at Long and also at Woodrow,” said Dulce Fabila, who has children at both schools. “She texted me, and I talked to her when she was in school. She said that she was scared and that she didn’t know what was going on, but that they were locked down,” Fox 4 reported.
District officials emphasized that the incident occurred off campus, in the park’s parking lot. They plan to deploy extra patrols at Woodrow Wilson on Friday as a precaution and will offer counseling services to students.
“Every incident that occurs at a campus and that doesn’t have to extend itself to a shooting. We always review our protocols,” Harris said, per CBS News. “We look at ways how we can strengthen and maybe tighten some other processes. And so, that will absolutely occur. But I think what matters most is really being able to provide the support and love and care for our Woodrow Wilson family.”
