Four people are dead after a shooting at a Georgia high school. Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, all lost their lives. An additional nine people — eight students and one teacher — were injured. The 14-year-old suspect, Colt Gray, was taken into custody and will face murder charges as an adult.
Frighteningly, it appears police knew Gray, as he was previously questioned for making online threats more than a year ago, according to multiple sources, including the Associated Press. But it appears the police didn't have enough to arrest him at the time. Now four innocent people are dead, and thousands of lives will never be the same.
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Gray reportedly opened fire outside a math class.
Classmate Lyela Sayarath told AP that Gray left his math class early but returned a short time later with an assault-style rifle. Sayarath assumed Gray was skipping class but saw no one would open the door for him when he returned.
"I'm guessing they saw something, but for some reason they didn't open the door," Sayarath said.
She then heard multiple gunshots, and she and the others dropped to the floor and took cover. School resource officers approached Gray, who reportedly surrendered without incident. Sadly, the shooter had already killed four people and injured several others.
Gray allegedly made disturbing online threats more than a year ago.
FBI Atlanta posted on X that agents had interviewed Gray and his father in May 2023 after the then 13-year-old allegedly made alarming threats about a potential school shooting online.
The father reportedly admitted to having guns in the home that were used for hunting but said his son did not have access to them, the post noted. The boy also denied making any threats. At the time, there was insufficient evidence to arrest Gray.
It is unclear how the shooter obtained the weapon.
Police are still investigating where Gray got the weapon used in the shooting. It is also unclear how he got into Apalachee High School, home to nearly 1,900 students.
Sayarath said life will never be the same. "All the students that had to watch their teachers and their fellow classmates die, the ones that had to walk out of the school limping, that looked traumatized. That's the consequence of the action of not taking control," she said via CBS news.
The shooting rocked the community.
Administrators canceled classes at Apalachee High School on Thursday, according to AP. Neighbors were shocked by what they saw. Linda Carter told AP the shooting should never have happened.
"I'm upset, I'm crying constantly. These kids shouldn't have lost their lives. These parents, these adults, these teachers should not have lost their lives yesterday," she said.
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The school district has been quiet on the issue.
It appears the Barrow School District has not released an official statement on the shooting. According to the district website, classes are canceled on September 5 and September 6, and crisis counselors are available at the district's central offices from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gray will be charged with murder and tried as an adult.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith addressed the media, saying, "I don't know why it happened. I may not ever know. We may not ever know. But I ask that you and our community lift up our schools, lift up our public safety, and that again, we do not let this hateful event prevail."
