2024 Apalachee High School shooting

Apalachee High School is a public high school located in Barrow County, Georgia, about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Atlanta. It is part of the Barrow County School District and has about 1,900 students.^[7] All Georgia schools are legally required to complete at least one active shooter drill by October 1, each academic year.^[8]

Georgia has some of the laxest gun laws in the United States.^[9] The sale of semi-automatic rifles is legal and requires no permit or gun safety course. Georgia also has no safe-storage law.^[10][11] A few weeks before the shooting, a group of Georgia lawmakers attempted to pass firearm safety legislation, offering a $300 tax credit to gun owners who purchase safes. The bill was rejected.^[12]

One week before the shooting, all teachers at the school were issued a form of ID called Centegix, which includes a panic button for any potential active situation in the school. The technology also includes a "dynamic digital mapping with real-time locating capabilities".^[13] Classroom doors at the school lock automatically once shut and require opening from inside if the person entering does not have a key.^[8]

Before the shooting, a call from an unknown source was placed to Apalachee High School stating that five schools would be targeted and that Apalachee would be the first.^[14] A second call, from Gray's mother, lasted about 10 minutes, and warned of an "extreme emergency" and requested administrators locate Gray, but they were unable to do so.^[15] On the morning of the shooting, Gray asked in his first-period class how Apalachee High would respond to an active shooter. This comment caused the teacher to report the comment via email to some school staff, not including the algebra teacher where the shooting would begin.^[16]

At 9:42 a.m., Gray texted his father "I'm sorry, it's not ur fault... ur not to blame for any of it. [sic]".^[16] At 10:02 a.m., Gray texted his mother "I'm sorry".^[16]

Gray exited his algebra classroom around 9:45 a.m. and the door was locked automatically behind him. At the same time, a student sharing Gray's first and last name left the classroom. After being alerted by teachers and Gray's parents that something was amiss, school resource officers accidentally apprehended the other student who shared Gray's name.^[16]

At 10:18 am, Gray's mother texted his father, suggesting he leave work, saying "They’re going to need you at the school". The shooting began minutes later.^[16]

When Gray knocked on the door to renter his algebra class, the student went to open it, looked through the glass panel in the door and saw a gun. When asked by the teacher to open the door, the student replied, "No, he has a gun." After being denied reentry into the classroom, the shooter turned and fired 10 to 15 rounds towards a nearby classroom.^[13][17] Shortly after the shots were fired, multiple staff members pushed the panic buttons on their IDs, which triggered a lockdown and alerted authorities, including three school resource officers, about the shooting.^[18]

One student told reporters that he had heard about 10 shots, not believing the shooting to be real until he heard an officer yelling at someone to put down their gun. Another recounted that after hearing the gunshots, the class barricaded the door with objects before hiding.^[19] One student stated that their teacher attempted to investigate the noises before being directed to lock the door, following reports of an active shooter. Subsequently, they heard someone pounding on the door shouting "Open up!" multiple times before gunshots and screams.^[20]

One of the teachers killed reportedly left his classroom after hearing a commotion and was shot in the chest. The students in his classroom, pulled him back into the classroom and attempted to save his life by using their own shirts to stop the bleeding while others barricaded the door with desks and chairs. One of the wounded students was able to get up and quickly shut his classroom's door, preventing Gray from entering, before he realized he was wounded.^[21][22]

The school was placed in lockdown at around 10:20 a.m.^[23] and law enforcement responded at around 10:23 a.m.^[24] The lockdown software caused all smartboards in the school to flash the words "Hard Lockdown" in large red letters. The ambiguous wording of this message made some students think it was part of a drill.^[8] The Georgia Bureau of Investigation director said that the sheriff's office received calls of an active shooter at the school at around 10:20 a.m. local time, with responders arriving within minutes. The school resource officers engaged the suspect within minutes and he surrendered to them.^[20]

Students were evacuated from the building to the school's football field, after it had been deemed safe.^[20] Students later recounted seeing abandoned book bags, phones, and shoes on the floor while they were being evacuated, while others recounted seeing police attempting to block a body on the ground, a gun and blood.^[8] Governor Brian Kemp directed all available state resources to assist at the scene of the shooting.^[25]

Four people were killed: students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both aged 14; math teacher Cristina Irimie (aged 53); and math teacher and assistant football coach Richard Aspinwall (39).^[26][27] Nine people (one teacher and eight students) were injured in the shooting, including seven who were shot.^[28][29] The wounded were treated at Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital in Athens and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.^[3][30] Several patients were admitted with panic attacks.^[7]

Colt Gray, a 14-year-old freshman student at the school, was arrested.^[31][32] He was charged with four counts of felony murder.^[32] Prosecutors plan to try Gray as an adult.^[32] He is accused of using a semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle in the shooting.^[32]

Gray's father Colin Gray, age 54, was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children. He allegedly purchased the firearm used in the shooting as a Christmas gift for his son.^[33][34]

Gray's parents are divorced. According to Gray's lawyers, his household was at one time visited by the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services.^[35] According to The Washington Post, for the three years before the shooting, Gray and his family interacted with multiple Georgia child welfare workers, four school systems, three county sheriffs departments, and two local police agencies, with many of them ignoring or not responding to reported child abuse Gray was experiencing at the hands of his parents.^[16]

In May 2023, FBI agents from the Atlanta field office, as well as local officers from Jackson County Sheriff's Office, visited Gray and his family to investigate school shooting threats allegedly made by Gray on Discord.^[32] The visit was prompted by anonymous tips received by the FBI's National Threat Operations Center.^[36] When questioned, then-13-year-old Gray denied making the threats; he was told by a deputy sheriff that he was going to take Gray "at your word"; Gray also denied knowing what Discord was at that time.^[16] At the same time, Colin Gray acknowledged that he owned hunting guns, but told investigators that his son did not have "unfettered access" to them.^[32][36] During the visit, pictures from the Discord account of the two weapons were not shown to Colin Gray to authenticate if they were his or not.^[16] In a statement issued after the September 2024 shooting, the FBI said, "At the time, there was no probable cause for an arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state or federal levels."^[36]

The Discord account's activity was traced to locations in Fort Valley and Statesboro, Georgia, and possibly Buffalo, New York. The Discord username was written in Russian and translated as "Lanza," allegedly referencing Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. However, Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, stated that his son does not speak or understand Russian. During questioning in May 2023, both Colt and his father denied any knowledge of the email. Colt also mentioned he had deleted his Discord account months earlier due to hacking concerns. After investigating, local authorities reported that the claim connecting the Discord account to either Colin or Colt Gray could not be substantiated.^[37][38]

In August 2024, Gray mentioned his fascination with Nikolas Cruz to his grandmother.^[16]

In August 2024, Gray's maternal aunt and grandmother communicated to others that Gray was having homicidal and suicidal thoughts, "shouldn’t have a gun," and was due to start therapy after false starts. It is not currently known if Gray attended his first therapy session. On the morning of the shooting, Gray's mother allegedly called the school warning of an "extreme emergency" and told administrators to find her son immediately. The administrator allegedly confused Gray with another student and was unable to locate either of them. The shooting began several minutes later.^[15]

In August 2021, Gray searched the internet for ideas on how to murder his father, with the search being flagged, since it was made from a school device. Two school resource officers showed up to Gray's home to talk with him and his mother. The Ben Hill County school district, where the incident occurred, said it couldn't find an incident report of the event.^[16]

In September 2021, Gray's maternal grandmother reported her daughter to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, after an incident where her daughter had allegedly struck Gray a half-dozen times. At the agency's request, Gray moved in with his paternal grandmother, and his mother began regular drug testing. Gray's maternal aunt offered additional evidence to the assigned caseworker, out of a fear that the incident was not being properly investigated, but was not taken up on that offer. The Fitzgerald County Police Department was never contacted about the allegations against Gray's mother, as was required under Georgia law.^[16]

On October 31, 2022, Gray was hit by his mother, and, with his sister, was forced out of the house. They were let back in by Gray's mother around 11 pm. A neighbor, who witnessed the incident, called the Jackson County office of Georgia's child welfare agency to report the account.^[16]

In the fall of 2023, Gray moved back in with his mother in Fitzgerald County; by her own admission, this was around the same time Gray's mother began using methamphetamine. After Gray's mother failed a random drug test, Gray and his siblings were remanded to their father in Winder, Georgia. On November 3, 2023, Gray's mother taped Gray's grandmother to a chair, telling her that she was going to drive to Winder, where she would kill both Colin and Colt. This remark was not reported to the police. Gray's mother was arrested after being found by local police officers in a Walmart parking lot, with her car covered in what she would describe as suicide notes, and wishes to see two of her children, but not Colt. She was sentenced to time served in December of that year for a family violence offense, while remaining in custody on a false imprisonment charge, that as of October 2024, are still pending.^[16]

Colt did not attend any school in the 2023-24 school year, despite being registered to a local middle school. Under Georgia law, the school district was required to intervene in cases of long term truancy, but it was unclear if this happened in Gray's case. Despite not completing a single day of the eighth grade, Gray began ninth grade at Apalachee High School.^[16]

Gray often refused to attend classes; when he did, he would have panic attacks, telling his grandmother he was convinced his teachers were talking about him.^[16]

The U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland, said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene.^[3] The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Atlanta office confirmed that its agents were on scene.^[3] The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is also involved in the investigation.^[3]

On September 6, Winder, Georgia hosted a memorial for the victims of the shooting with multiple politicians and about 1,000 people in attendance.^[39] A memorial was created outside the school with students, their parents and members of the community leaving items such as flowers, balloons and notes. The school's high school football team was scheduled to play at another area school on September 6, but the game was canceled and a prayer vigil scheduled in its place.^[40]

GoFundMe campaigns were started for the victims of the shootings to help cover costs associated with the shooting.^[41] Other fundraisers and memorial services were set up shortly after the shooting by local organizations and restaurants.^[42]

On September 20, Georgia students staged a walkout and a moment of silence for victims of the shooting.^[43] Apalachee High School reopened on September 24.^[44]

The White House issued a statement confirming that President Joe Biden was briefed by Liz Sherwood-Randall, the Homeland Security Advisor, on the shooting and that his administration will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as they receive more information.^[3] Vice President Kamala Harris thanked first responders and stated that it "doesn't have to be this way".^[45] Attorney General Merrick Garland expressed his devastation with regards to the shooting and to anyone affected by it.^[46] White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented on the shooting during the afternoon press briefing, discussing the concern for gun control in the form of universal background checks and other programs.^[20]

Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp tweeted his condolences and asked for all Georgians to join in praying for the safety of students in classrooms. Andre Dickens, the mayor of Atlanta, offered his thoughts and prayers to those affected as well as support to responding law enforcement.^[20] Georgia U.S. Representative Mike Collins, whose congressional district includes the school, issued a statement offering prayers for the victims and their families.^[46] Collins' response was met with criticism from gun control advocates, with some accusing Collins of endorsing gun violence, referencing a campaign ad in which he claimed Donald Trump had won the 2020 election while holding and firing an AR-15–style rifle.^[47]

Marjorie Taylor Greene, another U.S. Representative from Georgia, also issued a statement on X offering support to the victims and families. Like Collins, Greene had faced criticism for campaign ads involving guns, as well as promoting baseless statements about previous shootings, such as the 2018 Parkland high school shooting, which she falsely claimed was a false flag act to promote anti-gun laws.^[48]

Former President Donald Trump expressed his condolences via a post on Truth Social. He stated, "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."^[49] Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance said that school shootings are an unfortunate "fact of life", that schools are soft targets, and that security, and not gun control, is needed.^[50]