4 confirmed dead, suspect in custody after school shooting in Georgia
Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Georgia school shooting for Wednesday, Sept. 4. For the latest news, view our story for Thursday, Sept. 5.
Four people were fatally shot and several others injured at a Georgia high school Wednesday morning, sending shock waves through the leafy suburb of Winder, Georgia, and nearby schools into lockdown.
Two students and two teachers were killed, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said. The GBI identified the four victims as Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.
Nine other people – eight students and one teacher – were taken to hospitals with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening, authorities said at a late-night briefing.
Suspected shooter Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student, was arrested and charged with murder, according to the GBI. Authorities said he would be prosecuted as an adult.
Hosey told reporters that the weapon used was an AR-platform style rifle. He said authorities were still investigating how the shooter got the gun and brought it into the school.
Reports about an active shooter at Apalachee High School started coming in around 10:20 a.m., Hosey said, and law enforcement arrived minutes later. Once they encountered the shooter, he immediately surrendered and was taken into custody, according to Hosey.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters he was not aware of any connection between the suspected shooter and the victims.
"This is a very, very fluid investigation," Smith said in a news conference outside the school. "What you see behind us is an evil thing."
President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden are mourning those killed in the shooting. He demanded that Congress move to pass gun control legislation.
"What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart," Biden said. "Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal."
According to a database by USA TODAY, the Associated Press and Northeastern University, Wednesday’s massacre is the 604th mass killing in the U.S. since 2006 in which four or more people are killed. The database has tracked 3,120 fatalities in mass killings across the United States in 18 years.
A USA TODAY analysis of the data found Gray is the youngest suspected school shooter behind a mass killing since at least 2006.
The massacre in Georgia is the first school mass killing this fall after the 2023-24 school year saw a dramatic rise in shootings with at least 144 instances of gun violence, according to a recent study. Everytown for Gun Safety and David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, found gun violence at schools killed 36 people and injured 87 others in the previous academic year.
FBI received tips about suspected shooter in 2023
The suspected shooter charged with murder for the rampage in Georgia was interviewed by local law enforcement last year, FBI Atlanta revealed in a post on X Wednesday evening.
FBI's National Threat Operations Center received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting in May 2023, according to the Atlanta office. The threats, which didn’t specify a place or time, had pictures of guns and were traced back to Georgia.
The FBI Atlanta office said it shared the information with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, who then interviewed Gray and his father.
The father, who is not named in the post, told the sheriff’s office at the time that he had hunting guns at home but said his son didn’t have "unsupervised access" to them, FBI Atlanta said.
Gray, who was 13 at the time, denied making the threats online, according to FBI Atlanta, and Jackson County alerted local schools for “continued monitoring” of him.
FBI Atlanta said that at the time, there was no probable cause for arrest or further action by law enforcement.
Apalachee High School is in Barrow County and not a part of Jackson County schools. It is unclear whether Gray attended a school in Jackson County before moving into the Barrow County School District.
FBI Atlanta: Apalachee High suspected shooter was investigated last year for threats
Football coach grieves colleague's death
Apalachee High football coach Mike Hancock said he was grieving the death of Aspinwall, a respected math teacher and defensive coordinator for the team.
"He was a great dad, man, and a great father," Hancock said. "He loved his two girls and he loved his wife. He did happen to love the game of football, and he was well-respected around this area."
Aspinwall was one of Hancock's first hires when taking over Apalachee's program last season when Aspinwall came from Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville to serve as the defensive coordinator and teach math.
"He worked his tail off. He coached old-school ways, but he loved those kids. It's heartbreaking really for our kids, but for his wife and his two daughters…" Hancock said as his voice trailed off.
Hancock was on the football field with a P.E. class when the shooting broke out. He and boys basketball coach Tyler Rowland received an alert that there was a schoolwide lockdown, and they led students into the football fieldhouse. He did not hear the gunshots.
"This staff has been together for two years and Ricky has been a big part of it," Hancock said. "It's tough.”
'Just (want) to love on them': Apalachee football coach on 'blur' of a day, loss of assistant
Schools across county closed for rest of week
All schools throughout Barrow County went into lockdown as a "precautionary measure," the sheriff's office said Wednesday morning around 11:30 a.m. ET.
Barrow County School System Superintendent Dallas LeDuff said later Wednesday afternoon the schools will be closed for the rest of the week, and crisis counseling will be available.
Apalachee is one of two high schools in the Barrow County school system. It has about 1,900 students in a rural town of 18,300 people. Winder is about 30 miles from Athens, Georgia.
17-year-old Apalachee High senior heard gunshots and screams
One of the students who was inside the school during the shooting was 17-year-old senior Sergio Caldera. He told ABC News he was in chemistry class when he heard gunshots.
"My teacher goes and opens the door to see what's going on. Another teacher comes running in and tells her to close the door because there's an active shooter," Caldera told ABC News.
He said his teacher locked the door and students then ran to the back of the room, he said they heard screams from outside as they “huddled up.”
Caldera said someone pounded on his classroom door and shouted, “Open up!” multiple times at some point during the shooting. After the shouting and knocking stopped, he said he heard more gunshots and screams.
His class was later evacuated to the football field outside of the school.
Mass killing database: Mass killing database: Revealing trends, details and anguish of every US event since 2006
Officials share prayers for school shooting victims, families
Georgia state officials say they are closely monitoring the situation and have directed local and state resources to the response.
"I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state," Gov. Brian Kemp said.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been briefed on the shooting, according to the White House, and the administration "will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as we receive more information."
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene and gathering information about the shooting. “I’m devastated for the families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy,” Garland said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who represents Barrow County, said he had spoken with the county sheriff and offered his assistance.
"Leigh Ann and I are praying for the victims, their families, and all students at Apalachee High School in Barrow County," he said. "We extend our gratitude to law enforcement for their swift action to secure the school and get the shooter in custody."
Former President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post late Wednesday afternoon that "our hearts are with the victims and loved ones" affected by the shooting.
"These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster," Trump wrote.
Timeline: How Georgia's Apalachee High School shooting unfolded
Kamala Harris at rally: This is another 'senseless tragedy'
Harris said during a campaign rally in New Hampshire that it is "outrageous" that parents have to worry about whether their children will come home alive.
"We're still gathering information about what happened. But we know that there were multiple fatalities and injuries," Harris said. "Our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and the families, of course. And we are grateful to the first responders and law enforcement that were on the scene. But this is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies."
Harris said it "doesn't have to be this way" and it needs to stop. "We have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all," she said.
'American nightmare played out once again'
Groups advocating for stricter gun laws say they’ve become “hoarse” calling for change.
“The American nightmare played out once again,” said March for Our Lives, the student activist organization that formed following the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. “Our leaders have failed Apalachee High School today.”
In their statement, the group called out Kemp who said he would direct state resources to the school and has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association: “It’s not enough to just react to a shooting, we must focus on prevention.”
Natalie Fall, the organization’s executive director, drew a contrast between hallmark associations of what going back to school is like to what it feels like today.
“Back to school should mean new beginnings,” Fall said, “a time for fresh notebooks, new friendships, and the excitement of learning. But in America today, it often means returning to fear.”
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was the victim of an assassination attempt in 2011 that left six dead and founded her namesake gun violence prevention organization following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, called the shooting a “preventable tragedy.”
“Students deserve to feel safe at school. They deserve to live without fear of gun violence. Sadly, that is not the case in the United States,” Giffords said in a statement, adding that gun violence is the number one killer of children.
Law experts at Giffords' organization grade states based on their gun safety laws and gave Georgia an F on its annual scorecard.
Ways to improve gun safety in Georgia, according to Giffords’ experts, include repealing a permitless carry law and enacting a strong safe gun storage law.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers, Fernando Cervantes, Bart Jansen, Krystal Nurse, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia school shooting updates: 4 confirmed dead, suspect in custody
