The father of the Apalachee High School shooting suspect has been arrested for “knowingly allowing” his son to have a weapon, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Colin Gray is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
Gray told investigators he purchased the gun used in the killing of two teachers and two students as a holiday present for his son in December 2023, according to two law enforcement sources. His 14-year-old son told investigators “I did it” while being questioned, the Barrow County sheriff told CNN.
During a search of the suspect’s home, authorities also found documents they believe were written by the teen and referenced past school shootings, a law enforcement source told CNN.
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A timeline of what authorities say took place before, during and after the Apalachee High School shooting
From CNN's Dalia Faheid
Students embrace near a makeshift memorial at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 5.
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
In the hours since Wednesday’s shooting that left four dead, a lot of information has surfaced on the Colt Gray, the 14-year-old student charged in the shooting, along with his online activity and his father.
We’ve compiled a list of important developments that officials and court records say took place before, during and after that are related to the deadly shooting.
Here’s a timeline of what we know so far:
July 2022: Colt Gray’s family was evicted from their home by a Barrow County sheriff’s deputy in July 2022 for failing to pay rent, according to court records. As part of the eviction, sheriff’s records show, deputies collected three firearms, including an AR-15, and at least one hunting bow, and kept them for safekeeping. The weapons were later “released to owner,” the documents say.
May 2023: The FBI received “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.” The online threats included photographs of guns, according to the FBI. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office then interviewed Gray, who was 13 at the time, and his father, Colin Gray, who said guns were in the house but his son didn’t have access to them. Colt Gray denied making the threats online, an investigator wrote. Jackson County alerted local schools, but authorities determined “there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels,” the FBI said.
December 2023: Colin Gray, the suspect’s father, purchased the gun allegedly used in the mass shooting as a holiday present for his son, according to two law enforcement sources.
August 2024: A panic button system was implemented at Apalachee High School just one week before the shooting, which saved lives, teacher Stephen Kreyenbuhl said Thursday.
September 4: Around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, Colt Gray left a classroom at the beginning of Algebra 1 class, student Lyela Sayarath said. Gray returned, the student said, with a gun but was unable to get back into the classroom so he went to the classroom next door and opened fire. The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office was notified around 10:20 a.m. and arrived shortly after with two school resource officers. A resource officer confronted the shooter, who immediately surrendered to the deputy and was taken into custody, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said. The shooting left two students and two teachers dead and nine injured. During questioning, Gray told investigators “I did it” and was later booked into the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Smith said. Gray now faces four counts of felony murder in connection with the shooting.
September 5: Gray’s father, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested in connection to the school shooting Thursday and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. Authorities also provide an update, saying all nine people wounded in Wednesday’s shooting are expected to make a full recovery.
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Teacher describes terrifying moments when shooting started in the classroom next to hers
From CNN’s Amanda Jackson and Sharif Paget
Rachael Lehner, a math teacher at Apalachee High School, described the terrifying moments she heard gunfire erupt in the classroom next to hers on Wednesday morning.
“I am not okay. It started in the classroom next to mine,” she said in a social media post on Thursday. “I lost close friends. My job is to teach math, love kids, and have fun while doing it.”
Lehner thanked people for reaching out to her to check on her but she reiterated that “nothing about yesterday was okay.”
Lehner said she was teaching an English class for speakers of other languages when the gunshots rang out and she and her students went into lockdown.
“Imagine coming to a country hoping for a better life, hearing gunshots, looking at your teacher and not knowing what she’s saying because you don’t speak her language. My kids of different religions and languages still managed to hold hands, pray, and love each other while terrified,” Lehner wrote.
“I am a teacher. I am shaking. I just want to teach math, love kids, and have fun.”
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Several teachers pressed alert buttons on their badges to call for help during shooting, GBI says
From CNN's Nouran Salahieh
When the shooting started at Apalachee High School Wednesday, several teachers called for help by pressing alert buttons on their badges — new technology that had only been available to them for a week, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Teachers at the school were outfitted with Centegix ID badges that include a panic button that can alert authorities to dangerous situations, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Wednesday.
The program “100% saved lives,” Apalachee High School teacher Stephen Kreyenbuhl told CNN Thursday. He explained that four presses on the badges get administration involved and eight presses prompts law enforcement to be sent to the school.
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Booking photo released of the father of the Georgia school shooting suspect
From CNN’s Isabel Rosales
Colin Gray is seen in a booking photo released by the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office.
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday night released a booking photo of Colin Gray, the father of accused Apalachee High School shooting suspect.
The father has been booked on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said.
The charges against Colin Gray stem from him “knowingly allowing” his son to have a weapon, GBI Director Chris Hosey said at a news conference Thursday.
His son, 14-year-old Colt Gray, has been charged with four counts of felony murder, according to charging documents obtained by CNN.
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Apalachee math teacher was celebrating her recent birthday with her students when she was shot and killed
From CNN’s David Williams and Sara Smart
Math teacher Cristina Irimie was celebrating her birthday with her students the day she was shot and killed at Apalachee High School, according to a family friend.
Corneliu Caprar, a friend of Irimie and her husband, who is a part of the same Romanian church community, told CNN that Irimie’s birthday was on August 24th.
Irimie was a teacher that was dedicated to her students and treated them like her own.
“Cristina and her husband were not able to have any biological children of their own, so she decided to turn around and love her students as her own,” Caprar said.
Irimie loved dancing with her husband as she was a traditional Romanian folk dancer. According to Caprar, Irimie’s husband is “at the lowest point in his life and cannot bring himself to understand why any of this happened to his love.”
Now, her brother is processing Irimie’s death and how he will tell their mother, who just had emergency surgery, that her daughter died in a school shooting.
“Cristina was a person who made you feel welcome and important and she was so, SO funny. Just full of life,” Caprar added.
“We are all in shock. She was smart, vibrant, giving and beautiful – and to have one of her “own” take her life is the most shocking thing to all this.” Caprar said.
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“Parents can and should be held responsible,” says gun violence prevention group
From CNN’s Omar Jimenez
In response to the father of the suspected Apalachee High School shooter being arrested for “knowingly allowing” his son to have a weapon, Everytown for Gun Safety is calling Colin Gray’s actions a “complete and utter dereliction of responsibility.”
Suplina also pointed to the recent convictions of the parents of the Oxford High School shooter in Michigan stemming from a similar dynamic of charges.
“Earlier this year, juries in Michigan found both Jennifer and James Crumbley guilty of manslaughter for their extreme recklessness in failing to prevent their unwell son from accessing a gun, showing that parents can – and should – be held responsible when they disregard public safety. That verdict should have sent a clear message to people like Mr. Gray, but unfortunately for the victims and their families, he did not heed that message to prevent a tragedy,” said Suplina.
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"Emotions were very high" during meeting between officials and teachers, sheriff says
From CNN's Tori B. Powell
Officials met with Apalachee High School teachers on Thursday, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said this evening.
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"We're heartbroken," Barrow County sheriff says in wake of deadly school shooting
From CNN's Elise Hammond
County Sheriff Jud Smith speaks at a press conference Winder, Georgia, on September 5.
CNN
The sheriff said the community of Winder, Georgia, is facing heartbreak after four people were killed in a school shooting on Wednesday.
“We’re heartbroken,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said at a news conference on Thursday.
Two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School were killed when a gunman opened fire yesterday morning. Nine others were taken to the hospital, but Smith said they are all expected to “make full recovery.”
But still, Smith said he is proud of those who live in the community, adding, “We’ll get past this.”
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9 people wounded in shooting are all expected to make a full recovery, sheriff says
From CNN's Nouran Salahieh
County Sheriff Jud Smith speaks at a press conference on September 5.
WANF
The nine people wounded in the shooting are all expected to make a full recovery, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Thursday evening.
Several of those injured are still hospitalized while others have been discharged, the sheriff said.
The shooting left four people, two students and two teachers, dead.
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Threats made at various schools across Georgia have resulted in arrests, GBI director says
From CNN's Tori B. Powell
Threats made at various schools across the state of Georgia have resulted in arrests, according to Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
While Hosey did not expand on these incidents, he said that “we take incidents like this very seriously across this state.”
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Father of suspected shooter "knowingly" allowed his son to have a weapon, officials say
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Chris Hosey, the director of Georgia Bureau of Investigation, speaks during a press conference on September 5.
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The charges against the father of a teenager accused of killing four people at a Georgia high school this week stem from him “knowingly allowing” his son to have a weapon, Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said at a news conference.
Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
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SOON: Georgia officials will give an update on shooting investigation
From CNN staff
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will give an update at 8 p.m. ET on the investigation into the shooting at Apalachee High School that killed four people, it said on X.
Officials are also expected to address the arrest of Colin Gray, the father of the suspect in the shooting.
The GBI recently announced that Colin Gray was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children in connection to the shooting.
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Father of suspected shooter arrested and charged in connection with the high school shooting
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
The father of Colt Gray has been arrested in connection with the shooting at Apalachee High School, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Colin Gray, age 54, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
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Injured teacher who got shot closed the classroom door, saving lives, student says
From CNN's Sharif Paget
Sophomore Hazel Biondi told CNN she was in her geometry class working on a math paper when she heard banging outside. One of her teachers, David Phenix, opened the classroom door to see what was happening. Then, he got shot.
The injured teacher managed to shut the door before falling to the ground, Hazel said.
“And then we heard more banging and we thought he (the shooter) was going to come back so we turned off all the lights and got quiet,” she said.
Hazel’s mother, Nicole Biondi, 34, told CNN that Phenix saved lives on Wednesday. “If Mr. Phenix did not shut that door,” she said, her voice trembling.
Hazel does not recall how long they stayed in the room before law enforcement entered, but she said her teacher was conscious during that time.
“He was still responding, and my other teacher kept asking him to talk, so we knew he was still alive,” she said.
Phenix’s daughter said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that her father was shot in the foot and hip. And when he woke up from surgery, he immediately asked if his students and colleagues were okay.
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Suspected school shooter tells investigators: "I did it"
From CNN’s Isabel Rosales and Jaide Timm-Garcia
Colt Gray, the 14-year-old student accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School Wednesday, told investigators “I did it” while being questioned, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told CNN.
The boy was read his Miranda rights and was “still talking,” Smith said.
Colt’s father, Colin Gray, told investigators this week that he had purchased the gun used in the killings as a holiday present for his son, CNN previously reported.
CNN is working to determine whether Colin Gray has legal representation. When reached by phone on Thursday, the Barrow County Public Defender’s Office could not confirm they were representing and had no comment.
When asked Thursday whether Colin Gray could face legal repercussions in connection with the shooting, Smith said “possibly,” but added that it would be up to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to file charges.
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Discord account the FBI linked to shooting suspect shared plans for mass shooting and photos of firearms
From CNN’s Curt Devine and Yahya Abou-Ghazala
A Discord account that the FBI had linked to school shooting suspect Colt Gray last year referenced plans for a future mass shooting and shared screenshots of firearms, according to documents obtained by CNN.
The account referenced Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter, and in separate posts shared a desire to target an elementary school and expressed frustration with the acceptance of transgender people.
Above a photograph of two firearms, the account posted, “I’m ready.”
The FBI tip was shared with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, which closed the investigation after finding that “the user behind the Discord account that made the threat cannot be substantiated.”
A Discord spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday that the platform removed an account “believed to be associated with” Gray in May 2023 for violating Discord’s policy against extremism.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 to connect with a trained counselor, or visit the 988 Lifeline website
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Father of school shooting suspect told investigators he purchased gun as holiday present for son, sources say
From CNN’s Mark Morales and Ryan Young
The father of Apalachee High School mass shooting suspect Colt Gray told investigators that he purchased the gun used in the killings as a holiday present for his son in December 2023, according to two law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.
Colt, who was 13 during the May 2023 interview, said that “someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,” Jackson County sheriff’s investigator Daniel Miller Jr. wrote.
The teen’s father, Colin Gray, told investigators at that time he had hunting rifles in the house and said, “Colt is allowed to use them when supervised but does not have unfettered access to them,” the report said.
The Jackson County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office closed the investigation because a tip about the threat could not be substantiated.
CNN has made several attempts to reach Colin Gray by phone and in person at the family home. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
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Mexican Foreign Ministry confirms Georgia school shooting victim has Mexican nationality
From CNN en Español
The government of Mexico reported Thursday that one of the victims fatally shot at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, is a minor of Mexican nationality born in the United States.
The Mexican Foreign Ministry explained in a statement that personnel from the Mexican consulate in Atlanta are in contact with relatives of the victim and with US authorities.
That student is one of the four mass shooting victims at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, where about 25% of the students are of Hispanic origin, according to the school’s website.
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Richard Aspinwall, who was killed in shooting, remembered as the kind of man "you want to coach your kid”
From CNN’s Caroll Alvarado, Taylor Galgano and Sara Smart
Richard Aspinwall was identified by GBI as one of the victims of the shooting at Apalachee High School.
Apalachee High School
Apalachee High School shooting victim Richard Aspinwall was a math teacher and a high school football coach who is remembered as the kind of “man you want to coach your kid,” according to his former employer, Mountain View High School.
Community members, former colleagues and family members spoke to CNN about Aspinwall, who was among the four people killed in the school shooting on Wednesday.
Jason Turner coached alongside Aspinwall at Mountain View High School for several years and described him as a hero.
Katie Adams Seagraves, Aspinwall’s cousin, also shared a message on Facebook, remembering him as a “great father” who “loved his job.”
Prior to teaching and coaching at Apalachee High School, Aspinwall taught and coached at Mountain View, his former employer said on social media. Mountain View High School is in Lawrenceville, Georgia, north of Atlanta.
“Coach Aspinwall was a leader of men, and a man you want to coach your kid. We love Coach A, and are praying for his wife Shayna and his girls at this time,” the high school posted on its football team’s official X account.
A GoFundMe was started to help Apsinwall’s wife and their two daughters and has so far raised nearly $200,000.
Georgia high school shooting suspect had writings on past school shootings, source says
From CNN's Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Casey Tolan, Scott Glover, Josh Campbell, Curt Devine and Allison Gordon,
Authorities searching the home of Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray found documents that they believe he wrote referencing past school shootings, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation tells CNN.
The source said that the writings were discovered in Gray’s bedroom and included references to the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
The discovery, which could shed more light on a motive for the shooting, comes amid an emerging portrait of Gray’s tumultuous family life in the years leading up to the deadly attack, revealed in a CNN review of court and law enforcement records, social media posts, and an interview with his grandfather.
Gray’s parents went through a bitter separation and custody dispute in recent years. They called law enforcement on each other, the family was evicted from at least one home, and Gray’s mother was arrested for keying her husband’s car and drug possession, law enforcement records show.
At the same time, Gray’s mother and maternal grandfather have accused Gray’s father of being verbally abusive toward his family for years. The grandfather, who asked not to be named, said he had never seen the shooting subject show any kind of anger problems, but that the turbulent family life had affected the teenager.
Now, investigators seeking to understand the suspected shooter’s motive are looking into his family’s previous contacts with the state’s child protective services agency, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday.
Attempts to reach both of the suspect’s parents for comment on Wednesday and Thursday were unsuccessful.
Biden calls for "more than thoughts and prayers" after Georgia shooting
From CNN’s Nikki Carvajal and Arlette Saenz
Joe Biden delivers remarks during a visit to Vernon Electric Cooperative in Westby, Wisconsin, on September 5.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
In the wake of the latest school shooting in the US, President Joe Biden called on Congress to act on stronger gun control measures, focusing on something his administration wasn’t able to accomplish on a day meant to tout legislative victories.
Biden called out Congressional Republicans, saying it was time for them to “finally” say “enough is enough.”
“We have to do something together,” Biden said. “Let’s ban assault weapons.”
Biden also called for stronger background checks, an end to immunity for gun manufacturers and for parents who let their children who get ahold of weapons to be held accountable.
“I realize I’m in a rural area, like the rural parts of my state, where guns — we all have them,” Biden said, “and it’s not popular to talk about it, but the truth is, there’s a difference between rational and irrational.”
He said that while it “won’t bring back those children,” it would “help save lives if we do the things we’re talking about.”
“We can do if we do it together,” Biden said. “And I really think we can.”
Biden has long pushed to renew an assault weapons ban but has been stymied by Republicans in Congress.
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Georgia school shooting suspect will remain in juvenile custody
From CNN’s Devon Sayers and Shawn Nottingham
The booking photo of Colt Gray, the suspect in the Apalachee High School shooting, on September 5.
Barrow County Sheriff's Office
Colt Gray, the 14-year-old Georgia student accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School, will remain in the custody of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice even though his case has been moved to the adult system, a spokesman for the agency told CNN Thursday.
Gray will stay within the juvenile system until his 17th birthday, agency spokesperson Glenn Allen said. Gray is currently being held at Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, Allen said previously.
Under Georgia law, if a person aged 13 to 17 commits a serious crime, they are automatically tried as an adult.
The alleged shooter faces four counts of felony murder, according to charging documents obtained by CNN.
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Suspect in Georgia high school shooting expected to make first court appearance Friday. Here's what we know
From CNN staff
The suspect in the mass shooting at a Georgia high school will make his first court appearance on Friday as the authorities investigate the worst US school shooting since the March 2023 massacre at the Covenant School in Nashville that left six people dead.
Catch up on what we know so far:
Victims:
The four people killed were Mason Schermerhorn, a 14-year-old student; Christian Angulo, a 14-year-old student; Richard Aspinwall, a teacher; and Cristina Irimie, a teacher
The adults were both math teachers, and Aspinwall was also an assistant football coach, according to the school’s website.
Nine other people — eight students and one teacher — were wounded and hospitalized, all of whom are expected to survive.
Suspected shooter:
The suspected gunman is 14-year-old Colt Gray. He faces four counts of felony murder, according to charging documents obtained by CNN. Authorities say he is expected to be tried as an adult and he will make his first court appearance on Friday. He is cooperating with investigators, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told CNN.
Gray was questioned by law enforcement last year regarding “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting,” according to a joint statement from FBI Atlanta and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. The online threats included photographs of guns, according to the statement. The county sheriff’s office interviewed the suspect and his father, but the case was closed after a tip couldn’t be substantiated.
Authorities searching Gray’s home found documents that they believe he wrote referencing past school shootings, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation tells CNN.
Key pieces of the timeline:
Student Lyela Sayarath said the suspected shooter left the classroom at the beginning of their Algebra 1 class around 9:45 a.m. When he returned near the end of the class, he knocked to get back in. Another student went to open the door, but Lyela said that student noticed the gun and didn’t open the door. She said the shooter went to the classroom next door and opened fire.
Law enforcement arrived shortly after those calls, in addition to two school resources officers assigned to Apalachee High.
A resource officer confronted the shooter, who immediately surrendered to the deputy and was taken into custody, Sheriff Smith said.
Apalachee High School teacher Stephen Kreyenbuhl said a panic button system that authorities say was implemented just one week ago saved lives. Because of the system, Kreyenbuhl said he “saw the lockdown initiate before I even heard gunshots.”
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Suspected Georgia school shooter is cooperating with police, sheriff says
From CNN’s Isabel Rosales and Jaide Timm-Garcia
The teenager accused of killing four people at a Georgia high school on Wednesday is cooperating with investigators, according to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith.
Wednesday was only the second day the suspect, Colt Gray, had been a student at Apalachee High School, he told CNN.
On his first day at the high school, Gray left class to go to the counselor’s office because he was having anxiety, Smith said.
He was only in class for 30 minutes on Wednesday before the shootings occurred, he added.
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Apalachee math teacher killed in mass shooting was "always very happy and joyful," family friend says
From CNN’s David Williams
Cristina Irimie was identified by GBI as one of the victims in the shooting at Apalachee High School
Apalachee High School
Math teacher Cristina Irimie was “always laughing,” and was very active in the local Romanian community, Father Nicolae Clempus told CNN.
Irimie, 53, was a devout Christian and was part of a Romanian dance group when they met, Clempus said. She later taught dance to children.
She was also very dedicated to education and her students. She loved math a lot, Clempus said. “It was one of her passions.”
Clempus said he has been in contact with Irimie’s husband, who had to break the news to their family in Romania. “Her whole family is back home in Romania, she was here only with her husband,” Clempus said.
The couple does not have children, he said.
“He’s devastated. It’s hard to believe,” Clempus said. “It was hard for him even to talk about this.”
“We are very sorry that we lost a good soul,” Clempus. “She is going to be an example and for my community she is a hero.”
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Teacher wounded in shooting asked "is everyone else okay?" when he woke up in the hospital
From CNN’s Caroll Alvarado and Sara Smart
Special Education teacher David Phenix was one of the nine victims who were hospitalized after being injured in Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, according to his daughter Katie Phenix.
Phenix — who is a special education teacher focusing on mathematics, according to his LinkedIn — was concerned about his students and colleagues after he woke up from surgery, his daughter said in another Facebook post.
“After waking up, some of the first words out of his mouth were, ‘Is everyone else okay?’ I think that speaks volumes to the type of man he is— always putting others first, no matter his personal situation,” Phenix’s daughter posted Wednesday evening.
On Thursday afternoon, Katie Phenix said her father will remain in the ICU for at least another day.
“There’s a pretty long recovery period, but things are lookin’ good,” she said.
Prior to working at Apalachee High School, Phenix worked as a teacher in Loganville and Conyers, Georgia.
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Georgia school shooting suspect charged with 4 counts of felony murder
From CNN’s Andy Rose
Colt Gray, the 14-year-old Georgia student accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School, faces four counts of felony murder, according to charging documents obtained by CNN.
Authorities say he is expected to be tried as an adult.
Gray will make his first court appearance Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET.
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Apalachee High School's panic button system saved lives, teacher says
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
Chiman Douglas prays in front of the school sign outside of Apalachee High School on September 5 in Winder, Georgia.
Jessica McGowan/Getty Images
A panic button system that authorities say was implemented just one week ago saved lives during the shooting Wednesday, Apalachee High School teacher Stephen Kreyenbuhl said Thursday.
The program “100% saved lives,” Kreyenbuhl told CNN, adding, “I’d recommend it to any school district.”
Georgia law enforcement was notified about the shooting through the system, which was implemented just one week ago, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Wednesday.
Teachers at the school were outfitted with Centegix ID badges that include a panic button that can alert authorities to dangerous situations, Smith explained.
Kreyenbuhl said that teachers press a button in case of emergency: Four presses gets administration involved and eight presses prompts law enforcement to be sent to the school.
A spokesperson for Centegix said, “We are deeply saddened to hear of the events at Appalachee High School,” adding that the company cannot comment on the ongoing investigation.
Kreyenbuhl also said he hopes the community’s grief fuels action.
“I hope that more legislation can be done to hopefully prevent these situations and keep our children safe,” he said.
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Investigators said they couldn’t substantiate a 2023 tip about Georgia shooting suspect, records show
From CNN’s Curt Devine and Casey Tolan
Law enforcement officials said they closed an investigation into a school shooting threat last year involving the teenager accused of killing four people at a Georgia high school this week because a tip about the threat could not be substantiated, newly released public records show.
In May 2023, according to an investigation report obtained through a public records request, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from the FBI about a threat on the chat platform Discord to “shoot up a middle school tomorrow.”
The tip from the FBI referenced a Discord account created the previous month with an email address that the bureau had associated with Colt Gray, the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting. The tip included photo attachments with a profile name in Russian that translated to Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter. The FBI previously said in a statement Wednesday that the threat included photos of guns.
What authorities did at the time: Investigators wrote that they interviewed Colt and his father, Colin Gray, at their home in Jefferson, Georgia. Colt, who was 13 at the time, said “someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,” one of the investigators, Daniel Miller, Jr., wrote.
Colin Gray told investigators he had hunting rifles in the house, and that, “Colt is allowed to use them when supervised but does not have unfettered access to them.”
“Colt assured me that he never made any threats to shoot up any school,” Miller wrote. “I urged Colin to keep his firearms locked away, and advised him to keep Colt out of school until this matter could be resolved.”
The suspect’s father said that Colt had “had some problems” at a middle school in Jackson County, but had since moved to another school in the county and “it has gotten a lot better,” another reporting officer, Justin Elliott, wrote. Jackson County is next to Barrow County, where the shooting unfolded at Apalachee High School.
What investigators decided: Elliott wrote that the case would be cleared because “the allegation that Colt or Colin is the user behind the Discord account that made the threat cannot be substantiated.”
The Jackson County sheriff did not respond to an interview request from CNN about the 2023 investigation.
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In photos: Community mourns after Apalachee High School shooting leaves 4 dead
Once again, another US community is grieving a senseless school shooting after a 14-year-old suspect opened fire in Winder, Georgia, killing two students and two teachers.
Frantic parents rushed to contact and reunify with their children on Wednesday, as authorities continue to investigate a motive and how the suspect obtained the weapon used in the shooting.
Barrow County schools will be closed the rest of this week after the tragedy that unfolded just one month into the school year.
“I really don’t want to go back. I feel like I shouldn’t have to go back to school worrying about dying,” 14-year-old Macey Right said.
It’s at leastthe 45th school shooting so far this year and the deadliest US school shooting since the March 2023 massacre at The Covenant School in Nashville that left six people dead.
A couple embraces during a vigil for the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday, September 4.
Christian Monterrosa/AFP/Getty Images
A young girl and her mother watch as law enforcement and first responders surround Apalachee High School in Winder on Wednesday.
Christian Monterrosa/AFP/Getty Images
Student Gretchen Gierlach, 18, holds up a sign following the shooting.
Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters
Law enforcement officers hold police tape near the scene.
Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters
People pray during a vigil on Thursday.
Christian Monterrosa/AFP/Getty Images
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey speaks to the media after the shooting.
Megan Varner/Getty Images
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Apalachee High School football game scheduled for Friday canceled
From CNN's Andy Rose
Students gather on the Apalachee High School football field following the shooting on September 4 in Winder.
WSB
The football game scheduled to take place Friday at Apalachee High School in Winder will not be played, according to the school’s opponent, Monroe Area High School.
“The football game versus Apalachee for this week has been canceled,” Monroe Area High School said in a Facebook post Thursday morning. The game was set to take place on the same field where students gathered immediately after the shooting, with some forming a prayer circle.
Apalachee High School defensive coordinator Richard Aspinwall was one of the four people killed in the shooting that also sent nine people to hospitals.
“Monroe Area Stands With Apalachee,” the school posted.
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Shooting suspect will make first court appearance Friday
From CNN’s Nick Valencia and Jason Morris
Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray will make his first court appearance on Friday, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice communications director Glenn Allen told CNN.
Gray will appear in a virtual hearing, though the timing of that hearing is still unclear.
He was transferred to the Gainesville Youth Detention Center in the overnight hours. Though Gray will be charged as an adult, he is being held in juvenile custody right now because he is a juvenile, Allen said.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said in a news conference Wednesday night that authorities still are investigating how the suspect brought an “AR-platform style weapon” that was used in the shooting into the school.
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Student says classmates are trying to support each other today
From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas
The students of Apalachee High School are trying to support each other after the deadly shooting that left two of their classmates and two of their teachers dead Wednesday.
Sixteen-year-old Lyela Sayarath, who was sitting next to the 14-year-old suspect in algebra class yesterday morning, told CNN on Thursday that she plans to see her friends and check up on them today.
Sayarath said that the suspect left the room prior to the shooting.
“He skips (class) usually, so you never really know where he’s going,” she said.
When the suspect returned near the end of the class, he knocked to get back in. Another student went to open the door, but Sayarath said they noticed the gun and didn’t open the door. She said the shooter went to the classroom next door and opened fire.
She said she knows some of the students who saw the shooting firsthand.
Schools in Barrow County will be closed for the rest of the week, superintendent Dallas LeDuff said Wednesday. He also said grief counseling would be available.
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Shooting suspect being held at youth detention center
From CNN’s Rebekah Riess
The Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center is seen on Thursday in Gainesville, Georgia.
Devon Sayers/CNN
The 14-year-old Apalachee High School shooting suspect, Colt Gray, is currently being held at Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice communications director Glenn Allen told CNN.
Gray’s initial appearance is expected to take place in Barrow County Superior Court, Allen said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said Gray will be charged with murder as an adult.
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Georgia school shooting is at least the 45th in the US this year
Of the school shootings this year, 32 have been reported on K-12 campuses and 13 on university and college campuses.
Last year, there were 82 US school shootings. Of those in 2023, 52 shootings were reported on K-12 campuses and 30 on university and college campuses.
The US has suffered at least 385 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as those in which four or more victims are shot.
That’s an average of more than 1.5 mass shootings every day this year.
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Families must do more to keep firearms away from kids, says attorney who prosecuted Michigan shooter’s parents
From CNN's Andy Rose
Karen McDonald is seen during an interview on Thursday.
CNN
Karen McDonald, the attorney who prosecuted Ethan Crumbley and his parents for the mass shooting at Michigan’s Oxford High School in 2021, said yesterday’s school shooting in Georgia was a sad reminder for people affected by past shootings.
“I was in contact with Oxford victims all day yesterday, and how terrible it is to watch this play out once again,” McDonald told CNN Thursday morning.
Remember: Crumbley’s parents were the first in US history to be held criminally responsible for their child’s actions in a mass shooting, convicted of manslaughter. Ethan Crumbley was tried separately and sentenced to life in prison.
McDonald said investigators will be working to determine how Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray got the rifle he allegedly used to kill the victims. The gun used in Wednesday’s shooting was an AR-platform weapon, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation director. A law enforcement official told CNN earlier it was an AR-15-style rifle.
The FBI said Gray was questioned by law enforcement last year in connection to school shooting threats, but there was “no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action” at the time. “The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them,” the statement said.
Whether or not the Georgia suspect’s parents are ultimately found to be liable in the Apalachee High School shooting, McDonald said parents must do more to keep firearms out of the hands of their kids.
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Law enforcement questioned suspect last year about "threats to commit a school shooting"
From CNN’s Devon Sayers
The 14-year-old student suspected of killing two students and two teachers at the Apalachee High School was questioned by law enforcement last year regarding “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time,” according to a joint statement from FBI Atlanta and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
The online threats included photographs of guns, according to the statement.
The suspect and his father were then interviewed by the county sheriff’s office.
“The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them,” the statement read. “The subject denied making the threats online. Jackson County alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject.
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Her son’s school went into lockdown after the shooting. Then, the long wait began
From CNN’s Michelle Krupa in Winder, Georgia
Pam Mosher was in the supermarket when she got a message from her son’s school.
Police cars zoomed by — sirens and lights blaring — in the direction of the middle school on the same campus and just a 10-minute walk from Apalachee High School.
Pam knew something was wrong.
Eighth-grader Tim Mosher was in music class. He heard a gun go off; he’d later tell his mom it sounded like an AR. The 13-year-old grabbed a big drum and got ready to throw it at the shooter.
Then, an announcement was made: The school was on hard lockdown.
Tim sat down, back against the wall. Someone turned off the lights. No one said a word. This was what they had practiced. Like a lot of other kids, Tim had his phone. And like everyone else, he knew not to use it.
Pam Mosher left the store and went home. She kept getting texts from the school.
Word had begun to spread — on text chains and news stations — of four people shot dead at Apalachee High.
Pam waited, trying to be patient, trying to trust her neighbors and the system.
By mid-afternoon, Pam got another text saying the lockdown was lifted.
She drove toward Haymon-Morris Middle School, but couldn’t get close. Parents, grandparents, neighbors, and friends of the children of Winder, Georgia, had choked the few roads to their city’s schools for more than a mile in all directions.
Pam joined those who parked their cars and walked on — pushing strollers, maneuvering a leg-cast scooter, hosting toddlers on hips and shoulders — toward the nexus of flashing blue lights.
When she got to Tim’s school, police, sheriff’s deputies, and SWAT officers blocked every entrance, she said.
Tool that alerted officials about Georgia school shooting was rolled out a week ago, sheriff says
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
Georgia law enforcement was notified about the shooting at Apalachee High School because of a safety measure adopted a week ago, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Wednesday.
“All of our teachers are armed with a form of an ID called Centegix,” Smith told reporters.
Centegix alerts law enforcement “after buttons are pressed on an ID and it alerts us that there is an active situation at the school for whatever reason and that was pressed,” Smith said.
“We’ve had that at the school for about a week now,” he said.
The adults killed were both math teachers, and Aspinwall was also an assistant football coach, according to the school’s website.
Nine other people — eight students and one teacher — were wounded and hospitalized, all of whom are expected to survive.
Suspected shooter
The suspected gunman has been identified as Colt Gray.
Gray will be charged with murder and tried as an adult.
Gray was questioned by law enforcement last year regarding “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time,” according to FBI Atlanta and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. At that time, there was no probable cause for arrest.
Law enforcement officials arrive to give a press conference outside of Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4.
Christian Monterrosa/AFP/Getty Images
Timeline of the shooting
Student Lyela Sayarath said the suspected shooter left the classroom at the beginning of their Algebra 1 class around 9:45 a.m. When he returned near the end of the class, he knocked to get back in. Another student went to open the door, but Lyela said that student noticed the gun and didn’t open the door. She said the shooter went to the classroom next door and opened fire.
Law enforcement arrived shortly after those calls, in addition to two school resources officers assigned to Apalachee High.
A resource officer confronted the shooter, who immediately surrendered to the deputy and was taken into custody, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters.
When the shooting happened, all schools in the district were placed in lockdown, and police were sent out of an abundance of caution to all district high schools.
The FBI and the ATF were later on the scene working with local and state officials, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
The investigation
There were no reports of secondary incidents or scenes, law enforcement sources told CNN.
The gun used in Wednesday’s shooting was an AR-platform weapon, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation director. A law enforcement official told CNN earlier it was an AR-15-style rifle.
Apalachee High School had received a phone threat earlier in the morning warning that there would be shootings at five schools and that Apalachee would be the first, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN.
GBI Director Chris Hosey said there’s no evidence of other schools being targeted, but investigators are pursuing “any leads of any potential associates of the shooter that was involved in this incident.” At this point, there’s no evidence that any additional shooter was involved, and no evidence of a list of schools being targeted, Hosey said.
Schools in the county will be closed for the week while the investigation plays out.
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What we know about the 4 people killed in the Georgia school shooting
From CNN staff
(Left to right) Richard Aspinwall, Cristina Irimie, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo were all victims in the Apalachee High School shooting on September 4.
Four people were killed in a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning.
They have been identified as:
Mason Schermerhorn, a 14-year-old student
Christian Angulo, a 14-year-old student
Richard Aspinwall, a teacher
Cristina Irimie, a teacher
The school’s website shows the two adults were both math teachers, and Aspinwall was also an assistant football coach.
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Water, sports drinks and granola bars: How neighbors offered help after Georgia school shooting
From CNN’s Michelle Krupa in Winder
When they didn’t know what else to do, nieghbors set up a table with Goldfish crackers and two kinds of blue Gatorade.
Chris Comfort had heard the sirens rushing after 10 a.m. local time toward Apalachee High School and the middle school and preschool just beside it. Then, the news started to trickle out – on text chains, local news, CNN – about gunshots at the high school, kids in lockdown. Helicopters soon swirled overhead.
By noon, ordinary cars and trucks and SUVs had started lining up on Haymon Morris Road, the one main artery to and from the campus. But they moved at a crawl, brake lights bright red.
Some turned onto Comfort’s side street, then parked two cars deep. Others, unwilling to face the gridlock, started passing by on foot – trudging a mile, often more, under a beating sun in hopes of confirming their worst fear wasn’t real.
By midafternoon, neighbors had “been bringing waters and snacks for hours.”
They had water, sports drinks, granola bars, applesauce packs, cheese and peanut butter crackers, gummies and cold cubed watermelon.
They worked in shifts to hand it out mostly to the walkers but also to drivers who crept by on the road.
One neighbor, only identified as Chris, was with her 15-year-old daughter, Geaux, a homeschooled 10th grader who hangs out with lots of kids from the neighborhood, sports and church who go to Apalachee High.
Some of those kids walked with their parents back past the snack table.
“It’s afternoon, and they haven’t eaten since breakfast,” Chris said of many.
“There were some kids who hadn’t eaten since last night because they didn’t have time for breakfast this morning. They were on their way to school,” Geaux said.
“It’s hot,” the teenager added. “And it’s scary.”
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Student huddled with classmates during shooting as their teacher stood over them
From CNN's Alli Gordon
Law enforcement and first responders respond to a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4.
Christian Monterrosa/AFP/Getty Images
Shana McMillan, a teacher at a Head Start program in Gainesville, Georgia, heard her daughter’s school was under lockdown yesterday and ran out the door. She described her journey “as the longest ride … to get to my baby.”
Although she did not see the shooting, McMillan’s daughter heard the gunshots and saw blood on the floor when they were told to evacuate the school, her mother said. Her daughter’s teacher told them to get in the corner and stood over them to “protect them just in case the shooter came in the room,” McMillan said.
Her daughter was across from the classroom where one of the teachers was killed, McMillan said, and the students from across the hall came into her daughter’s classroom crying.
As her daughter huddled with her classmates, McMillan received texts terrifying to any parent.
When they were finally reunited, McMillan said she just hugged her daughter real tight.
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Teen who missed school Wednesday shares how she found out her friend died in shooting
From CNN's Ryan Young, Jade Gordon and Mike Reff
A teen who missed school at Apalachee High School Wednesday found out her friend died through a group chat, she told CNN’s Ryan Young.
Kathrine Maldonado overslept Wednesday and missed school, she said. After she woke up later that morning, her friend texted her saying the school was in a lockdown.
Kathrine’s friend said she was OK and then started texting group chats, where they found out that a friend was killed and at least two more were injured.
Kathrine said her friend that died in the shooting was known as a class clown and described him as a “sweet person.”
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Apalachee student was praying while hearing "people begging not to get shot"
From CNN’s Zenebou Sylla
Not long after Dr. Anetra Pattman said goodbye to her 14-year-old daughter Macey Right as she headed for school, she received a text:
Pattman — a teacher at an alternative school in Barrow County, about 5 miles from Apalachee High School — immediately showed the messages to her own school principal.
Pattman, an educator for about 22 years, had practiced active shooter drills for about 10 years.
Meanwhile, Macey and a group of girls held hands together to pray. Moments later, they were disrupted by banging and yelling, according to Macey.
Macey said she is worried about returning to school.
CNN’s Taylor Galgano contributed reporting.
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Watch Apalachee High School students describe the deadly shooting
From CNN's Abby Washer
Apalachee High School students explain to CNN what happened when shots rang out this morning in Georgia, killing two teachers and two students and wounding several others.
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Apalachee High School students describe harrowing moments as shooting happened
From CNN's Ryan Young
Jayden Finch speaks to CNN in an interview on September 4.
CNN
Apalachee High School students say they are still processing today’s shooting, when a 14-year-old allegedly opened fire and killed four people.
Jayden said he was in a classroom near where the shooting happened. He said his class was having presentations when a lockdown notification appeared on a television in his classroom.
Zyrianna Finch recalled how her teacher had left her classroom to get papers from a printer in a different room and that another teacher was supervising the class.
She and her classmates were directed to go into a closet while “really loud shots” rang out, Zyrianna said.
Nicholas Criswell also described the noise of the gunshots. He said the sound was similar to a person “just banging on the door.”
Nicholas said his teachers were “a little bit panicked,” but got them into a corner and followed the drill procedures.
He recalled hearing “scuffling feet and things like that, and then shouting” before police evacuated students out of the building.
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Student says gunman tried to get into classroom but was stopped. Gunfire was heard moments later
From CNN’s Taylor Galgano and Jaide Timm-Garcia
Lyela Sayarath, a junior at Apalachee High School, told CNN she was sitting next to suspected gunman Colt Gray moments before the deadly shooting occurred Wednesday.
She said Colt left the classroom at the beginning of their Algebra 1 class around 9:45 a.m. local time. Lyela thought Colt was going to the bathroom, but he didn’t take a pass, so she assumed he was skipping class, she said.
Toward the end of her Algebra class, Lyela said someone over the loudspeaker told her teacher to check her email.
Shortly after, Colt returned to the classroom outside the shut door, which Lyela said locks automatically. She said a girl in the class went to open the door for him but then jumped backward after presumedly seeing that he had a gun.
Lyela said the students in her classroom hid behind desks, as they heard the gunshots, which she described as “just one after another.”
Lyela said her friend was in the classroom next to her, where the shooting was taking place.
Lyela described Colt as quiet and shy, and would only respond with single-word answers when they worked as a group on projects.
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"You can hear gunshots from afar": Students describe shooting at Apalachee High School
From CNN’s Gustavo Valdes
Some students who were in the building during the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday described their experience to CNN.
Martinez initially thought it was someone “playing around in the hallways or something. I thought it was like someone just yelling or something. So I didn’t think much of it.”
But then she noticed that “the noise kept getting louder and louder, and I was like, ‘No, no, guys.’ Like, I told everybody to get down. Get down, because, like, you don’t joke around with that.”
Martinez added that when she got to a corner she witnessed some girls crying and that the teacher was shaking. “I was like, ‘No, it’s gonna be OK. ‘Because if you tell yourself, it’s gonna be OK, it’s gonna be OK.”
Eventually, she said that authorities came and took them out of the classroom and onto the field.
Another student, Alexandra Romero, said she could hear “the gunshots from afar.” As they got louder, the school announced it was on lockdown and she and her classmates remained in their room for about 10 minutes until they were evacuated by authorities.
Julie Sandoval said she heard five gunshots right next to her — a series of loud bangs, like heavy books falling several times in a row. She and some of her other classmates hid in the corner until police came into the room.
She said she was worried about her sister who also is a student at the school. Sandoval texted her parents to tell them she loved them.
CNN’s Elise Hammond contributed reporting to this post.
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"I love you": Senior at Apalachee High School texts his mom after gunshots ring out
From CNN's Sharif Paget
Erin Clark was at work Wednesday morning when she got a series of text messages from her son who was attending class at Apalachee High School.
Clark told CNN her son, who is a senior at the school, heard eight or nine gunshots before he closed his classroom door. He and another classmate moved chairs and tables to block the door.
The mother said she and other parents were not allowed to drive on the road to the high school, so they parked down another street and walked.
“Once we got to the school, they directed us to go to the football field and meet our kids,” Clark told CNN. She later found Ethan safe by the bleachers.
She told CNN she was “absolutely terrified” when she read her son’s messages and that she “kept praying he’d stay safe.” Clark said she was “in complete shock that this was actually happening.”
