5-9-2024 (GEORGIA) AÂ 14-year-old student unleashed a deadly attack at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday, 4 September. The assailant, now in custody, claimed the lives of two fellow students and two teachers, while leaving nine others wounded in what marks the first school shooting of the new academic year in the United States.
The tranquil morning was shattered around 10:20 am local time when reports of an active shooter prompted a swift response from local law enforcement. Sheriff Jud Smith, visibly shaken by the day’s events, addressed the media, describing the scene as “an evil thing”. According to Smith, the gunman, identified as Colt Gray, surrendered immediately upon confrontation with a deputy inside the school premises.
Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, confirmed that Gray, despite his young age, will face charges as an adult. The specifics of the weapon used and the shooter’s motives remain undisclosed as investigations continue.
The shooting has left the community reeling, with distressing scenes of anxious parents queuing in their vehicles outside the school, desperately hoping to be reunited with their children. The incident is particularly poignant given that classes at Apalachee High, which boasts an enrollment of nearly 1,900 students, had only commenced on 1 August.
Eyewitness accounts paint a harrowing picture of the ordeal. Sergio Caldera, a 17-year-old student, recounted to ABC News the terrifying moments when gunshots interrupted his chemistry class. The ensuing chaos saw students and teachers huddling in classrooms, with the sounds of gunfire and screams echoing through the halls.
The tragedy has once again thrust the issue of gun violence in American schools into the national spotlight. President Joe Biden, in a statement, expressed his and First Lady Jill Biden’s grief over the lives lost and called for bipartisan cooperation on “common-sense gun safety legislation”.
Police are responding to a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Our children should be able to go to school without being met with gun violence.pic.twitter.com/EDLcDdzh8V
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) September 4, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, decried the incident as a “senseless tragedy” and emphasised the urgent need to address the “epidemic of gun violence”. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, offered condolences to the victims and their families on social media.
