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Four people are dead with nine injured and one person in custody following a deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey in a Wednesday news conference identified the shooter as Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High. Hosey said Gray will be charged with murder as an adult.
Of those dead, two were students and two were teachers, he said. Nine others, eight students and a teacher, were injured in the shooting and taken to local hospitals. None of those who perished or suffered injuries were identified at the news conference.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith called the shooting “pure evil” after taking a moment to compose himself while speaking to media.
“My heart hurts for these kids,” he said. “My heart hurts for our community. But I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county. … Love will prevail over what happened today.”
Smith said Gray surrendered and went to the ground when confronted by a school resource officer. Authorities are questioning him, but Smith did not offer details on a possible motive for the shooting. The gun used was described by Hosey as an “AR platform style weapon” during an evening news conference.
Barrow County schools Superintendent Dallas LeDuff said all schools in the system will close for the remainder of the week. However, the central office will remain open and grief counseling provided to any student who seeks it.
Apalachee High School administrators at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday sent a message to parents noting that the school was “in a hard lockdown after reports of gunfire.”
The GBI and the FBI had agents on site, according to social media posts from those authorities.
Hosey said authorities interviewed numerous students, faculty and other witnesses they could identify. He said local, state and federal agencies contributed to securing the school and the investigation. Multiple crime scene agents were collecting evidence, he added. The suspect and his parents have been interviewed by investigators, according to Smith.
Hosey said that anyone with information about the shooting can anonymously provide information by calling 1-800-597-TIPS.
Others offering prayers, support for victims
“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.”
In an evening news conference, Kemp noted that he represented Barrow County in the state Senate 20 years ago.
“This is everybody’s worst nightmare,” he said. “… These are our neighbors. These are our friends. And this community is hurting today.”
President Joe Biden also responded to the shooting.
“What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart,” Biden said. “Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”
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.
‘Long conversation with our kids’
By mid-afternoon parents and students continued to leave the area of the football stadium, where they gathered after being escorted from the school, which had become a crime scene.
Janad Cunez was leaving with her daughter and like many parents was shaken by the shootings.
“We were so scared. I mean you go to work and never go home to your loved ones,” she said. “I live here and Barrow County is known as a beautiful county. Now that you hear more and more of these type evens, it makes you wonder should I stay here or go somewhere else.”
Cunez said she was at work when she heard co-workers questioning why there was so many sirens.
“Later we found out on the news that it was shooting here,” she said.
Natalie Brooks said she found out about the shooting from one of her children who didn’t attend the school.
“My son was there and he didn’t have his phone with him today so that was very scary. I didn’t have a way to contact him,” she said.
“I don’t know if these kids understand what has happened,” Brooks said. “It will be up to us parents to have a long conversation with our kids.”
Both mothers, who said they left work and headed for the school, said they were appreciative of how quickly law enforcement responded to the emergency.
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.