14-year-old student kills 4, injures 9 in shooting at Georgia high school

A 14-year-old high school student killed two classmates and two teachers at a high school outside Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday in a shooting that also left nine others injured.

The student was arrested and identified as Colt Gray, and will be charged and tried as an adult, according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey.

This episode is just the latest in a series of school shootings in the United States in recent years, including the particularly deadly ones in Newtown (Connecticut), Parkland (Florida) and Uvalde (Texas).

The shooting took place at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, where the injured were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds, investigators said at a news conference.

The suspect was speaking to investigators, but investigators declined to say whether he told them his motive. They also declined to specify what type of weapon he used in the shooting.

Students ran for cover at the football stadium as police stormed the campus and parents rushed to find out if their children were safe at the school in Winder, Georgia.

“What you see behind us is something evil,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said at a brief news conference outside the school. He declined to give details about the victims or the suspect.

The classroom killings have sparked heated debates over gun control and angered parents whose children are growing up accustomed to active shooter drills in classrooms.

Jacob King, a sophomore football player, said he had fallen asleep in his world history class after a morning practice when he heard about 10 gunshots.

King said he didn’t believe the shooting was real until he heard an officer yell at someone to put down their gun. King said when his class was brought out, he saw officers protecting what appeared to be a wounded student.

Ashley Enoh was home Wednesday morning when she received a text from her brother, who is a senior at Apalachee High School:

“Just so you know, I love you,” she wrote.

When she asked him in the family chat what was going on, he said there was a shooter at the school. Enoh’s younger sister, who is a junior at the school, said she had heard about the shooter and that everything was on lockdown.

Authorities, who were dispatched shortly before 10:30 a.m. to respond to an “active shooting,” provided few details immediately, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

A helicopter video of WSB-TV showed dozens of police and emergency vehicles surrounding the school in Barrow County, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.

When Erin Clark, 42, received a text from her son Ethan, a high school senior, informing her that there was an active shooter, she rushed from her job at an Amazon warehouse to go to school.

Since the main road leading to the school was blocked, Clark parked and ran with other parents. The parents were then directed to the football field. Amidst the chaos, Clark found Ethan sitting in the bleachers.

Clark said her son was writing an essay in class when he first heard the gunshots. Her son then worked with his classmates to block the door and hide.

“I’m very proud of him for doing it,” she said. “He was very brave.”

The students had started the school year just over a month before Wednesday’s shooting.

“I’m scared to send him back,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Traffic to the school was backed up for more than a mile as parents tried to reach their children.

“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,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement.

“We will continue to work with local, state and federal partners as we gather information and best respond to this situation,” Kemp added.

In a statement, the FBI Atlanta office said: “FBI Atlanta is aware of the current situation at Apalachee High School in Barrow County. Our agents are on the scene coordinating and supporting local law enforcement.”

The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed by his national security adviser, Liz Sherwood-Randall, on the shooting and that the administration will coordinate with federal, state and local officials as it receives more information.

According to records from Georgia education officials, Apalachee High School has about 1,900 students. It became the second-largest public high school in Barrow County when it opened in 2000, according to the Barrow County School System. It is named for the Apalachee River at the southern tip of Barrow County.

The shooting had repercussions in Atlanta, where police said they had stepped up patrols at schools in that city. Additional patrols will be conducted at Atlanta schools “throughout the day as a precaution,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

[Con información de AP]

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels YouTube, WhatsApp and the newsletter. Activate notifications and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.