At least four dead and nine in hospital after shooting at high school in Georgia

At least four people were killed Wednesday in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, around 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, local media reported. A suspect whose identity has not been released has been taken into custody alive. A law enforcement source told CNN that the shooter is believed to be a 14-year-old boy. Information on the identity of the victims, the condition of those hospitalized, and other wounded treated on the ground has also not been provided.

“We are asking for your patience… please let us get the facts that we need to make sure we get this right,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “This is going to take multiple days for us to get answers as to what happened and why this happened.”

The school, which has around 1,900 students, sent a message to parents saying “Apalachee High School is currently in a hard lockdown after reports of gunfire. Law enforcement is here. Please do not attempt to come to the school at this time while officers work to secure the area,” local media outlet Athens Banner-Herald reported. Subsequently, parents were able to go the school to pick up their children, according to the same media outlet.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement of condolence and condemnation after the shootings: “[First Lady] 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. What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart. Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal,” he said in a message released by the White House. “Ending this gun violence epidemic is personal to me,” he added, calling for a tightening of gun laws.

The Apalachee High School shooting is the tenth mass shooting — those that result in at least four deaths or injuries — to occur in the first four days of September in the United States.

Erin Clark, 42, the mother of one of the students, received a text message from her son Ethan, a senior at the high school, assuring her that there was a shooter, she told the Associated Press. She left her job at the Amazon warehouse to go to the school. The two texted each other “I love you,” and Clark said she prayed for her son as she drove to the scene.

With the main road to the school blocked, Clark parked and ran with other parents, who were directed to the football field. Amid the chaos, she found her son sitting in the bleachers. She said Ethan was writing an essay in class when he heard the first shots, and then he and his classmates barricaded the door and hid. “I’m very proud of him for doing that,” she said. “He was very brave.”

Jacob King, a sophomore football player, also told the AP that he had fallen asleep in his history class after a morning practice when he heard about 10 gunshots. King said he didn’t believe the shooting was real until he heard an officer yell at someone to put the gun down. He added that when they left the classroom, he saw police officers protecting what appeared to be a wounded student.

“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 said on X. “We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation,” Kemp added, without providing further details.

“The GBI has responded to a shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County,” the FBI’s Atlanta office noted through the same social network. “We have agents on site assisting local, state, and federal law enforcement with the ongoing investigation. One suspect is in custody.”

No official information about the victims has been published, but CNN reported there are at least four fatalities and 30 wounded, although the nature of their condition has not yet been confirmed. Atlanta’s Fox-5 reported seeing one person being loaded onto a helicopter for transfer to a hospital. WSB-TV also reported a second person was taken to hospital by ambulance. “Casualties have been reported, but no details on the number or condition are available at this time,” the initial statement from the county sheriff’s office said.

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