2024-09-04 23:30:03
A suspect is in custody after multiple people were injured during an “active shooter situation” on Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith confirmed “multiple injuries” but did not say how many people were hurt or explain the extent of their injuries, according to reporting from USA Today. He declined to say whether anybody was killed.
“This is a very, very fluid investigation,” Smith said in a news conference, adding that officials would give more information at 4 p.m.
“What you see behind us is an evil thing,” Smith said from in front of the school, noted USA Today.
Grady Hospital in Atlanta has received at least one gunshot wound victim from Apalachee High School, according to reporting from USA Today. But other media outlets are reporting dozens more injuries.
Apalachee High School administrators at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday sent a message to parents noting that the school “is currently in a hard lockdown after reports of gunfire. Law enforcement is here. Please do not attempt to come to the school at this time while officers work to secure the area.”Parents are being allowed to take their children from the school.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI has agents on site, according to social media posts from those authorities.
“The GBI has responded to a shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County,” noted the agency on Facebook. “We have agents on site assisting local, state, and federal law enforcement with the ongoing investigation. One suspect is in custody.”
“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 posted on X. “We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation.”
President Joe Biden also responded to the shooting.
“President Biden has been briefed by his Homeland Security Advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall, on the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia and his administration will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as we receive more information,” the White House told USA Today.
The school is one of two high schools in the Barrow County school system. Other nearby schools were placed into lockdown as a precaution, noted the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.
Clarke County School District Superintendent Robbie Hooker said students, parents and staff at Athens schools might see a larger police presence for the time being as they are maintaining a “heightened situational awareness.”
“We are aware of the events occurring at Apalachee High School in nearby Barrow County,” Hooker noted in an email to parents. “We are very closely monitoring the situation and are in communication with local law enforcement as well. Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends and neighbors in Barrow County.”
Return to this story for updates as more information becomes available. USA Today contributed to this report.
