Georgia High School Shooting: 4 Confirmed Dead, Several Injured
The shooter has been identified as a 14-year-old student.
UPDATED 9/5, 10:25 p.m. ET: Colin Gray, the father of 14-year-old Colt Gray who is believed to be the person behind the Apalachee High School shooting, was arrested on Thursday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced.
Gray, 54, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children.
GBI said Colin knowingly allowed his son to have a weapon. According to NBC News, Colt received an AR-15 style rifle from his father as a gift.
NBC News obtained a joint statement from the FBI’s Atlanta field office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office disclosing Colin and Colt Gray were under investigation last year after the teenager was suspected of threatening a school shooting.
Colin told investigators at the time that even though there were hunting guns inside the residence, his son was not given unsupervised access to them.
Colin and Colt were not arrested following the investigation since there was no probable cause. Local schools were advised to monitor them.
UPDATED 9/4, 6:50 p.m. ET: Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Chris Hosey announced at a news conference earlier today that 14-year-old Colt Gray has been identified as the shooter at Apalachee High School who killed two students and two teachers and injured nine others.
According to CNN, Gray, who attended the school, will be charged with murder and treated as an adult by the criminal justice system.
Authorities said Apalachee received a call prior to the incident, warning them of shootings at five schools with the Winder, Georgia high school being the first.
Police are investigating where the call came from.
See original story below.
An "active shooter situation" unfolded at a Georgia high school on Wednesday, with multiple agencies having since confirmed their involvement in the ensuing on-scene response.
While initial information on the incident remained scarce as of this writing, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office is quoted in a report from USA Today as stating that an "active shooter situation" at Apalachee High School in Winder had spurred the lockdown. Official word on possible injuries or other info was not immediately made public, though NBC News has since reported casualties and injuries, as well as the apprehension of a suspect. Per the outlet, two people are dead and four are injured. Sources cited by CNN later said that number had risen to four total deaths, though officials have not publicly confirmed this.
In a statement, FBI Atlanta said it was "aware of the current situation" at the school, adding that agents were "on scene coordinating with and supporting local law enforcement.'
In a separate statement, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed the suspect's apprehension, adding that "more info" would be released soon.
Live footage from 11Alive showed a sizable law enforcement presence at the scene. Thus far, all that’s been directly confirmed from the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office is the multi-agency response to the school around 10:23 a.m. local time due to "a reported active shooting" situation. The office also said that a suspect was in custody and that "casualties have been reported," though further specifics were not immediately shared.
As should sadly be expected at this stage in humankind, misinformation on the shooting was rampant across social media on Wednesday. Readers are advised to use caution.
Complex has reached out to local school officials, as well as the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, for comment. This story may be updated.
"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 Governor Brian Kemp, who’s notably a big fan of looser laws around guns, said shortly after Wednesday’s news broke. "We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation."
For those not familiar with the area, Winder, located in Barrow County, is about an hour from Atlanta. The Atlanta Police Department has been placed "on standby" in response to Wednesday’s shooting, per Mayor Andre Dickens.
"My prayers are with the high school students, staff, and families affected by the act of violence in Winder, Georgia," Dickens said. "I have been in contact with APD chief, and APD has been working with Atlanta Public Schools Police Department to bolster patrols around our schools for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution."
