ATLANTA, Georgia. A 14-year-old student shot and killed four people, including two students and two teachers, while injuring nine others in a tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday. The incident occurred just weeks after the start of the school year, marking the first major school shooting of the new academic year in the U.S.
According to authorities, Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspect, was taken into custody after the shooting and will be charged as an adult. “The suspect was speaking with investigators, but the motive for the attack remains unclear,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The type of weapon used in the attack has not been disclosed.
The shooting unfolded around 10:20 a.m. after the sheriff’s department received reports of an active shooter on campus. “What we see behind us is an evil thing today,” Winder Sheriff Jud Smith said during a press conference on the school grounds. Deputies responded swiftly, confronting the gunman inside the school. The suspect surrendered without resistance after being confronted by a deputy.
Apalachee High School, located roughly 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, had nearly 1,900 students enrolled last year. Classes had resumed on August 1, making this attack a jarring start to the school year. Images broadcast by local TV stations showed anxious parents lining up outside the school, waiting to reunite with their children as news of the tragedy spread.
A student witness, Sergio Caldera, 17, recounted the horror to ABC News. He was in chemistry class when gunshots echoed through the school. “My teacher opened the door, and another teacher ran in, shouting for her to close it because there was an active shooter,” Caldera said. His class huddled inside, hearing gunshots and screams before they were later evacuated to the football field.
National Response to the Shooting
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and released a statement expressing his grief: “Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed.” Biden also called for bipartisan cooperation to pass “common-sense gun safety legislation.”
Vice President Kamala Harris echoed these sentiments, calling the shooting a “senseless tragedy” during a campaign event in New Hampshire. “We’ve gotta stop it. We have to end this epidemic of gun violence,” Harris said, urging for stronger gun control measures.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, expressed his condolences on social media: “Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA. These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.”
A National Debate Reignited
The shooting reignites the debate on gun control in the U.S., where school shootings have become alarmingly common. The country has witnessed hundreds of such attacks in schools and colleges over the past two decades, including the infamous 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that left over 30 people dead. The ongoing national discourse over the Second Amendment, which enshrines the right “to keep and bear arms,” continues to polarize the country.
David Riedman, who runs the K-12 School Shooting Database, labeled this as the first “planned attack” at a school this fall, while many other schools across the nation have only recently started their new academic year.
As the community grapples with the aftermath of this senseless act, calls for action and reflection on gun violence in schools have once again become central to the national conversation.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
