Apalachee High School shooting victims identified; 14-year-old suspect to be charged with murder

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified the four people who were killed during a shooting at Apalache High School on Wednesday morning.

In a press briefing Wednesday night, the GBI identified the victims as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, both math teachers, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14 years old.

During an earlier news press conference, law enforcement identified the shooting suspect as 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at the high school.

Apalachee High School shooting timeline

According to the GBI, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office began receiving calls at around 10:20 a.m. Officers responded to the high school within minutes and almost immediately encountered the suspected shooter, who dropped his weapon and surrendered.

“Obviously the shooter was armed, and our school resource officer engaged him and the shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up, that it would end with an OIS — an officer-involved shooting,” Smith said.

According to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith, the shooter was immediately interviewed. Smith said that he is not aware of any connection between the student and the victims, but they are looking into all aspects surrounding the incident.

The GBI says that their priority is to gather all the facts and make sure they are accurate. The GBI says there is much work to be done, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews. Another press conference will be held in a couple of hours, according to officials. 

PHOTOS: Apalachee High School mass shooting

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The school was cleared by 11:30 a.m., and students were released to their families. Winder-Barrow High School was also briefly placed on lockdown as a precaution, though no threat was found.

All those transported to Northeast Georgia Health System’s hospitals in Barrow and Braselton have been treated and released, officials said. Those taken to the NGHS Gainesville are all stable. 

The condition of the victim who was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston was not immediately available.

The school will be closed for the remainder of the week. 

GBI officials say they are working to figure out the full timeline of events.

Gray is being held at the youth detention center, but will be tried and arraigned as an adult. The full list of charges against him has not been released, but he will be, at very least, charged with murder.

Investigators stress that there is no evidence suggesting Gray was working with anyone else and say there are no other credible threats to other schools. However, as always, they say they will remain vigilant.

According to U.S. News & World Report, there are approximately 1,900 students enrolled at the school. It is one of two high schools in the Barrow County Public Schools district. The school is located about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta. 

RELATED: Students recount harrowing moments

Who is Colt Gray?

While authorities have been giving regular updates on Wednesday’s school shooting at Apalache High School, there are still many unanswered questions.

The GBI identified the shooter as 14-year-old Colt Gray, who attended the high school.

Investigators say he was armed with an “AR-platform style weapon.”

They are still investigating how he obtained the weapon and was able to bring it onto the school campus.

The FBI and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office revealed Gray was on their radar about 16 months ago, and was questioned about reported posts on an online gaming site threatening to shoot up a school. The FBI, in a joint release with JCSO, stated there was not enough evidence to charge Gray.

RELATED: What we know about the suspected shooter

Colton Gray’s home raided

Within hours of Wednesday’s shooting at Apalache High School, law enforcement from state and federal agencies swarmed the home of the suspected shooter, Colton Gray. Investigators from the GBI, ATF, FBI and other agencies were on the scene well into the evening, searching the home for evidence. 

“The police presence and the SWAT, they were flying down the road. I know 50 cars plus, just coming fast, jumping out of cars, full armor, guns in hand, surrounding the house,” said neighbor Christie Ridings. 

Investigators say they were searching for guns and other weapons, as well as computers, cellphones, and other electronics that could access social media accounts, anything that could help piece together a timeline of events, a motive, and how this could happen. 

Ridings said the family has lived in the home just across the Winder line, in the town of Bethlehem for about two years.  

“I was in shock…there’s just no way. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. That this is really what’s been going on in the news is actually the guys across the street. Or lived across the street,” she said. 

She said sometime after 11 a.m., right after learning the schools were on lockdown, she saw a massive police presence.  

“It hit us hard emotionally, especially my grandsons. They have a lot of friends at Apalachee. And I don’t know… my heart just goes out to everybody,” she said. 

Ridings said one of her grandsons texted a photo of the alleged gunman which had been circulating. She realized it was the same teen she saw get on the school bus right in front of her home. 

“He was in blue jeans, like baggy blue jeans, a black hoody jacket zipped up, with the hood up on, and a backpack. And I don’t know why, it felt off. And I just kept looking at him, trying to figure out who he was, where he lived. Like I said, it was the first time I’d ever seen him,” she recounted. 

Winder community in shock

Those who were inside Apalache High School are sharing their stories, from seeing classmates and faculty shot, to having to pass bodies and pools of blood in the hallway. 

“We have practice drills, so everybody thought it was a drill until we heard everything. We heard the announcements go on, and it was like, ‘This is not a drill, this is a lockdown.’ Everybody was crying, everybody was on the floor hugging each other and everything,” said student Alexsandra Romero. 

There is no shortage of horror stories from this traumatic and violent day. 

“When someone preys on kids, it’s tragic. Like I said earlier, hate is not going to prevail in our county, and it’s not going to prevail in our state,” Sheriff Smith said during a 9 p.m. press conference. “And pure evil did what happened today. That’s all I can tell you.” 

SEE ALSO: Woman says father was one of the victims

Abner Sanz found out about the shooting through his text messages. 

“I was just like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then I checked the family group chat and there’s my sister saying that there’s a shooting at Apalache and that’s how I was just like, ‘This isn’t real, this can’t be happening,'” Sanz said.  

He was friends with 14-year-old Christian Angulo throughout middle school. 

“I started asking other people if it was true that he had passed away because I just wanted to know. I was in denial because you would never believe somebody that you knew would pass away just like that,” Sanz said. 

Isaiah Hooks, a sophomore football player, says he is in disbelief over Coach Aspinwall’s death. 

“It’s just so hard to think that somebody that you spent so much time with, because this is my second year with coach, but spending so much time, like family basically,” said Hooks. “So, turning around, knowing that he’s not going to be there…it was kind of just like it hit hard because none of us wanted to believe it.”

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Barrow County community mourns victims

More than 200 people gathered at Jug Tavern Park in Winder for a community prayer vigil just hours after the school shooting. Tears were flowing as grief griped those impacted by Wednesday’s violence.  

Hearts were heavy as city leaders spoke to the crowd of people who, in one way or another, had been impacted by this devastating tragedy. 

Many of the students who attended said they are still replaying the terrifying moments from earlier in the day in their heads. 

Still, the resounding message was one of hope but also honesty about how this has really just rocked the community. 

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Gov. Kemp pledges full state resources

Gov. Brian Kemp had been receiving briefings regularly before joining law enforcement officials on the scene in Winder.

“This hit home for us, being from Athens, just down the road, Marty and I, having a daughter that taught for first grade just a few years ago. This is everybody’s worst nightmare,” Kemp said during the 9 p.m. press conference.  

The governor reiterated his commitment to having all state resources needed to assist in the investigation for as long as necessary.

In a statement made to the social media platform X, he called for Georgians to join his family in prayer:

White House responds to school shooting

The White House confirmed President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting by Homeland Security Advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall. They say his administration is coordinating with federal, state, and local officials.

The White House also confirmed that prior to departing Joint Base Andrews, Vice President Harris was briefed on the tragic shooting. The Harris campaign says the vice president is expected to address the shooting at the top of her remarks at the brewery stop in New Hampshire.

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