The suspect has been identified in the Georgia high school shooting.
The shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday left four people killed and nine injured. The victims were identified as Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Christian Angulo, 14; Christina Irimie, 53; and Richard Aspinwall, 39, per NBC News.
After the shooting, the suspect, Colt Gray, 14, surrendered immediately.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters, “Our school resource officer engaged him and the shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up, that it would end with an OIS — an officer involved shooting,” adding, “He gave up, got on the ground and the deputy took him into custody.”
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey told reporters the suspect will be charged as an adult in the arrest and prosecution.
Additionally, per The Washington Post reporting: “Jackson County sheriff’s officers interviewed Gray and his father in 2023, when Gray was 13, after receiving anonymous online tips about threats to commit a school shooting. The father told authorities that he had hunting guns in the house but that his son did not have unsupervised access to them, the FBI said. Officials said there was no probable cause for arrest or further action at the time.”
Smith also expressed that “hate will not prevail.”
“This is home for me. I was born and raised here. I went to school in this school system. My kids go to this school system. I’m proud of this school system,” he said. “My heart hurts for these kids. My heart hurts for this community.”
Smith added: “But I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county. I want that to be very clear and known. Love will prevail over what happened today.”
