On September 4th, 2024 at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia; a deadly shooting occurred. This tragic event left four people killed and nine others hospitalized. The suspected gunman was identified as Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student at the school.
The four victims killed have been identified as:
- Christian Angulo, a 14-year-old student
- Richard Aspinwall, a teacher
- Christina Irmie, a teacher
- Mason Schermerhorn, a 14-year-old student
Eight of the nine others hospitalized were students and one teacher, who are all expected to survive from their injuries. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who have suffered such a great loss.
On the morning of what was considered a normal day for students at Apalachee High School, it turned into a deadly situation. Around the time before the shooting, Marcee Gray had just received a message from her son, Colt Gray, saying, “I’m sorry Mom.” She called the school and asked the administrators to check on him. Mrs. Gray described her conversation with a school counselor starting, “…Earlier this morning one of Colt’s teachers had sent me an email that said Colt had been making references to school shootings.” She immediately told them it was an extreme emergency, and they needed to find her son immediately.
A student named Lyela Sayarath suspected that the shooter left his classroom around 9:45 a.m., and came back with a gun in hand. The classroom door was locked, so Gray went to a classroom next door and opened fire. It was not until after 10.20 a.m. that the sheriff’s department received their first reports of an “active shooter.” After the first few calls to law enforcement, they arrived. A resource officer confronted Gray, who immediately surrendered and he was taken to custody.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also arrested 54-year-old Colin Gray, the father of Colt Gray. Colin is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children. His charges come from allowing his underage son access to a gun, which killed four people. Colt is charged with murder and will be tried as an adult.
This incident marked the 49th school shooting in the year 2024.
