GEORGIA, USA September 05, 2024 (TDI): Four people, including two students, were killed, and nine others injured in a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.
The suspected shooter, identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at the school, is now in custody.
The school, located about an hour from Atlanta, was shaken by the tragedy, which unfolded just before 10 a.m.
Student Lyela Sayarath recounted that Gray left their Algebra 1 class around 9:45 a.m. When he returned later, he knocked on the door to re-enter.
A classmate who went to open the door noticed Gray was armed and refused to let him in. Gray then went to the neighboring classroom and opened fire.
Authorities confirmed that Gray had been questioned by law enforcement in 2023 over online threats to carry out a school shooting.
However, after interviewing him and his father, local authorities found no probable cause for an arrest. Despite this, schools in the area had been alerted to monitor him.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reported that Gray, armed with a semiautomatic rifle, surrendered to school deputies shortly after the shooting.
While the investigation continues, officials believe he acted alone, though his motive remains unclear.
The victims were identified as 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, along with teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.
Sheriff Smith said all nine of the wounded were expected to survive. “Today was pure evil,” Smith remarked during a press briefing.
The tragedy has reignited national debate over gun control. In Winder, a small city of 18,000, a candlelight vigil was held Wednesday evening.
Community members gathered to pray and mourn the victims, with City Councilman Power Evans urging unity: “When one of us is affected, we’re all affected.”
Reacting to the Georgia High School Shooting, President Joe Biden expressed sorrow over the loss of life and renewed his call for “common-sense gun safety legislation.”
Vice President Kamala Harris also condemned the violence, calling it a “senseless tragedy” and stressing the need to end the epidemic of gun violence.
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Former President Donald Trump took to social media to offer condolences, referring to the shooter as a “sick and deranged monster.” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, while refraining from discussing policy, urged the public to focus on mourning the victims, stating, “Today is not the day for politics.”
This was the first planned school shooting of the academic year, according to David Riedman, who runs the K-12 School Shooting Database.
School shootings have become a recurring tragedy in the U.S., with hundreds of incidents reported in the last two decades.
The deadliest school shooting remains the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, where over 30 people were killed.
This latest shooting has once again brought the issue of gun control and the Second Amendment to the forefront of national discourse.
