Apalachee High School shooting: Four victims identified, 14-year-old suspect in custody

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed Wednesday afternoon that four people were dead and nine others were injured and taken to hospitals. During a news conference hours later, authorities announced that the suspect was Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student at the school. Gray will be tried as an adult for murder.

Two of the people killed were students, later identified as Mason Shermerhorn and Christian Angelo, both 14, and two others, teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.

“Hate will not win in this county,” said Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith. “Love will win over what happened today.”

Update: Four people are dead. Nine more have been taken to various hospitals with injuries. Suspect in custody and alive. Reports that suspect has been “neutralized” are false.

— GA Investigation Bureau (@GBI_GA) September 4, 2024

The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement earlier in the day that it dispatched multiple law enforcement agencies to the school at 10:23 a.m. in response to a reported shooting. Police and emergency medical personnel remain on the scene.

At a news conference early Wednesday afternoon, law enforcement officials would not confirm any details, other than to say that multiple agencies were investigating the shooting and that the situation remained “fluid.”

“I appreciate your patience. Again, it’s very active and it’s still developing. Every minute is developing what we’re finding,” Smith said, but stressed that it will take “many days” to fully understand the shooting.

When asked directly about the multiple reports of deaths resulting from the shooting, Smith declined to answer beyond saying there were “multiple injuries.”

Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) directed “all available state resources” to Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, following an “incident” that occurred there.

We will continue to work with local, state and federal partners as we gather information and take further action in response to this situation. (2/2)

— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) September 4, 2024

“I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School, and I call on all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of students in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state,” Kemp said. “We will continue to work with local, state and federal partners as we gather information and respond to this situation.”

Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who represents the district where the school is located, said he has spoken to Smith about any ways to help with the response and that he is praying for the students.

Leigh Ann and I are praying for the victims, their families, and all the students at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.

We express our gratitude to law enforcement officers for their quick intervention to secure the school and arrest the shooter.

I talked to Sheriff Smith and…

—Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) September 4, 2024

“Leigh Ann and I are praying for the victims, their families and all the students at Apalachee High School in Barrow County,” Collins said in the X. “We are grateful to law enforcement for their quick action to secure the school and arrest the shooter. I have spoken with Sheriff Smith and told him that my team and I stand ready to assist in any way necessary. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as appropriate.”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the city’s schools would have increased patrols through the end of the day, and the Atlanta Police Department was on standby in case Winder officers needed help responding to the shooting.

“My prayers are with the high school students, staff, and families affected by the senseless act of violence in Winder, Georgia,” Dickens said in a statement Wednesday. “I have reached out to Chief Schierbaum, and the Atlanta Police Department has worked with the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department to increase patrols around our schools for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution.

“APD is also on standby in case law enforcement needs assistance in connection with this incident,” he added. “May God comfort the victims and their loved ones in the difficult days ahead.”

Agents with the FBI’s Atlanta Division “are on scene, coordinating and supporting local law enforcement,” officials said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is also responding to the shooting.

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President Joe Biden said in a statement to X on Wednesday that he and the first lady “mourn the loss of those whose lives were cut short due to yet another senseless act of gun violence and are thinking of all the survivors whose lives were changed forever in Winder, Georgia.”

“Students across the country are being taught to duck and cover instead of read and write. We can no longer accept this as normal,” he continued.