Winder, Georgia — A tragic shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday morning left four people dead and several others injured, sending shock waves through the typically quiet suburb of Winder. Nearby schools were placed on lockdown as authorities responded to the scene.
Among the victims were two students and two teachers, identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) as Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.
Nine others — eight students and one teacher — were transported to hospitals with injuries that authorities said were not life-threatening. The details were provided during a late-night briefing by officials.
The suspected shooter, identified as Colt Gray, 14, was arrested and charged with murder. Authorities confirmed that Gray, a student at the school, would be prosecuted as an adult. GBI Director Chris Hosey said Gray used an AR-platform-style rifle in the attack, and investigators are still working to determine how he acquired the weapon and brought it into the school.
Reports of an active shooter at Apalachee High School began around 10:20 a.m., with law enforcement arriving within minutes. Hosey told reporters that the suspect surrendered immediately upon being confronted by authorities and was taken into custody without further incident.
At this time, officials have not found any connection between Gray and the victims. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith described the event as “an evil thing” during a news conference outside the school. “This is a very, very fluid investigation,” he added.
President Joe Biden expressed his condolences, saying that he and First Lady Jill Biden are mourning the victims. He also called on Congress to pass stricter 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,” said Biden. “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 joint database by USA TODAY, the Associated Press, and Northeastern University, this marks the 604th mass killing in the U.S. since 2006, in which four or more people were killed. The database has recorded 3,120 fatalities in mass killings across the country over the past 18 years.
A USA TODAY analysis of the data revealed that Gray is the youngest suspected school shooter behind a mass killing since at least 2006.
The tragedy in Georgia is the first school mass killing of the fall. Last year saw a dramatic rise in school shootings, with at least 144 incidents of gun violence during the 2023-24 school year. Research by Everytown for Gun Safety and David Riedman, founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, found that gun violence in schools killed 36 people and injured 87 others in the previous academic year.