2024 Apalachee High School shooting

Apalachee High School is a public high school located in Barrow County, Georgia, about northeast of Atlanta. It is part of the Barrow County School District and has about 1,900 students. All Georgia schools are legally required to complete at least one active shooter drill by October 1, each academic year. Georgia has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the United States. The sale of semi-automatic rifles is legal and requires no permit or gun safety course. Georgia also has no safe-storage law. One week before the shooting, all teachers at the school were issued a form of ID with a panic button for any potential active situation in the school, which caused classroom doors to lock automatically once shut and require opening from inside if the person entering does not have a key. == Shooting ==

Before the shooting, a call was made from an unknown source to Apalachee High School stating that five schools would be targeted and that Apalachee would be the first. 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. 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 in whose class the shooting later began. 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.". At the same time, a student sharing Gray's last name and nearly identical first name left the classroom. After being alerted by teachers and Gray's parents that the situation was urgent, school resource officers went door to door asking for "Gray", and nearly found him in the restroom, but instead accidentally apprehended the other student who shared Gray's surname. After realizing over 10 minutes later they had picked up the wrong student, they began searching again. 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. 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. 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. One of the teachers who was killed 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 students―before he realized he was wounded―got up and quickly shut his classroom door, preventing Gray from entering. The school was placed in lockdown at around 10:20 a.m. and law enforcement responded at around 10:23 a.m. The lockdown software caused all interactive whiteboards 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. Students were evacuated from the building to the school's football field after it had been deemed safe. == Victims ==

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

Colt Gray, a 14-year-old freshman student at the school, was arrested. He was charged with four counts of felony murder. The verdict is considered a significant legal precedent for parental accountability, as it successfully utilized a state's second-degree murder statute to link a parent's underlying "criminal negligence" in child-rearing directly to the deaths of third parties. Prior investigations and concerns of violence 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 in Jefferson to investigate school shooting threats allegedly made by Gray on Discord. 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. In August 2024, Gray mentioned his fascination with Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, to his grandmother. Abuse and home environment According to Gray's lawyers, his household was at one point visited by the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services. 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 sheriff's departments, and two local police agencies, with many of them ignoring or not responding to reported child abuse Gray was allegedly experiencing at the hands of his parents. In September 2021, Gray's maternal grandmother reported her daughter to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services after an incident in which 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 Police Department was never contacted about the allegations against Gray's mother, as was required under Georgia law. Gray often refused to attend classes; when he did, he had panic attacks and told his grandmother that he was convinced his teachers were talking about him. == Investigations ==

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene. The FBI's Atlanta office confirmed that its agents were on scene. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was also involved in the investigation. == Legal proceedings ==

In early September 2024, both Gray and his father appeared at the Barrow Superior Court in separate court hearings to be read the charges against them. Gray is charged as an adult with 55 charges, including four counts of felony murder. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole. Due to his underage status at the time of the crime, he is ineligible for the death penalty. Colin Gray faced 27 charges, In February 2026, Colin Gray's trial began with prosecutors detailing over 1,000 crime scene photos, scans, videos and walkthroughs of the scene. On March 3, 2026, Colin Gray was found guilty of all charges brought against him: second-degree murder in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, involuntary manslaughter in the killings of teachers Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie, 18 counts of cruelty to children, and five counts of reckless conduct. == Aftermath ==

On September 6, Winder hosted a memorial for the victims of the shooting with multiple politicians and about 1,000 people in attendance. 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. GoFundMe campaigns were started for the victims of the shootings to help cover costs associated with the shooting. Other fundraisers and memorial services were set up shortly after the shooting by local organizations and restaurants. On September 20, Georgia students staged a walkout and a moment of silence for victims of the shooting. Apalachee High School reopened on September 24. In January 2025, Apalachee High School installed metal detectors. On February 4, 2025, Apalachee High School students protested at the Georgia State Capitol in support of a law which would establish penalties for storing firearms in a way easily accessible to minors. == Response ==

Political reaction 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. 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 falsely claimed Donald Trump had won the 2020 election while holding and firing an assault rifle. 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. Republican presidential nominee 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." 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. == See also ==