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Four people - two students and two teachers - are dead and nine more are injured after a teenage gunman opened fire inside a Georgia high school, authorities say.
Officials announced on Wednesday night that the two dead students were 14-year-olds, with a male teacher and female teacher also fatally shot.
Mason Schermerhorn, 14, was identified by family members as one of the dead students. The other victims were named late on Wednesday as teachers Christina Emery and Richard Aspinwall, and student Kristen Angolo, 14.
Schermerhorn, who is autistic, was named by his mother to Channel 2 Action News. Family members had shared his photo on social media when they were unable to reach him.
Gunfire erupted at Apalachee High School, 50 miles outside of Atlanta, around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Police named the suspect as 14-year-old Colt Gray, who is a student at the school. He is alive and in custody after surrendering to responding officers. He will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, officials said.
The FBI revealed on Wednesday night that it had investigated the suspect, who used an “AR platform” weapon in the shooting, for allegedly making online threats to carry out a school shooting in May 2023.
The Bureau’s Atlanta office put out a statement confirming an investigation was carried out after photos of guns were posted online.
The suspect, who was then 13, was found by Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies and interviewed, according to the FBI. His father told investigators that the family had hunting guns in the house but that the teenager did not have “unsupervised access” to them.
The boy denied that he had made the threats and the FBI says that there was “no probable cause” to arrest him or take any further legal action.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey told a press conference on Wednesday night that there was no evidence of other schools being targeted by the suspect.
“There’s no evidence to report that any additional shooter was involved in this incident today,” Hosey said. “There is no evidence of a list of schools being targeted,” Hosey said. “However, there is a lot of evidence that is being recovered and evaluated.”
Earlier Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith discussed the “evil” that had taken place.
“I never imagined that I would be speaking to the media in my career over something that happened today — the pure evil happened here today,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said while standing outside the high school.
“Hate will not prevail,” he added.
The school received a phone threat earlier in the day, law enforcement officials told CNN. The caller warned that there would be shootings at five schools and that Apalachee would be the first. There have been no other shootings at area schools.
Students recounted the harrowing moments when they heard gunshots in their hallways, just one month after returning from summer break.
One student told WSB-TV that her teacher was shot while in the doorway of their classroom. She then worked with fellow students to drag them back into the room and barricade the door, the local outlet reported.
Sergio Caldera, a 17-year-old senior, told ABC News he was in chemistry class when gunshots began.
“My teacher goes and opens the door to see what’s going on,” Caldera said. “Another teacher comes running in and tells her to close the door because there’s an active shooter.”
Caldera said someone banged on their classroom door and shouted “open up” several times. Afterward, he heard more gunfire and screaming.
D’Anthony Kanzig said he and his fellow students tried to be as quiet as possible as the shooting happened.
“I was in class and I just saw ‘hard lockdown’ on my screen and then you just hear the gunshots and everyone got down,” he told WXIA.
Kanzig said students hid under desks and that some were laughing because they thought it was just a drill. Others were crying.
“Kids were praying, keeping it as quiet as possible,” he said.
Local and national leaders have also spoken out about the tragedy.
“Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has directed all available state resources to the school, he said.
“We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation,” Kemp said.
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris called the incident “another senseless tragedy.”
“It’s senseless, it is — we’ve got to stop it, and we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all,” Harris said at a campaign event. “You know it doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way, so we will continue, of course, to send our prayers and I thought to families and all those who were affected.
Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz also spoke on the incident while at a campaign event in Pennsylvania.
“Before we get started, our team just briefed me on this, we have a school shooting going on in Georgia at this time,” Walz said. “We’re on it, and the White House has been briefed on it.”
“This is tragic. We don’t know any of the details on it yet, but it’s a situation that’s all too common and and our hearts are out there right now...Our work needs to be to prevent these in the future as we know,” he continued. “I know it’s a little bit of a heavy heart for all.”
Former president Donald Trump posted about the shooting on Truth Social.
“Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA,” Trump wrote. “These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.”
