Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

6 hours ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

6 hours ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

6 hours ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

6 hours ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

1 day ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

1 day ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

1 day ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

2 days ago
14-Year-Old in Custody for Georgia High School Shooting That Killed 4, Injured Others
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 11 months ago on
September 4, 2024

People leave Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP/Mike Stewart)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WINDER, Ga. — A 14-year-old student opened fire at a Georgia high school and killed four people on Wednesday, authorities said, sending students scrambling for shelter in their classrooms — and eventually to the football stadium — as officers swarmed the campus and parents raced to find out if their children were safe.

The dead were identified as two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, about an hour’s drive from Atlanta. At least nine other people were taken to hospitals with injuries.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said two school resource officers encountered the shooter within minutes after a report of shots fired went out. The suspect, a student at the school, immediately surrendered and was taken into custody. He is being charged as an adult with murder.

Authorities Continue Investigation

Authorities were still looking into how the suspect obtained the gun used in the shooting and got it into the school.

The investigation was still “very active,” Hosey said, with lots of interviews and crime scene work yet to be done.

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith choked up as he began to speak during the news conference. He said he was born and raised in the community and his kids are in the school system.

“My heart hurts for these kids. My heart hurts for our community,” he said. “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.”

Superintendent Dallas LeDuff said county schools will be closed for the rest of the week as they cooperate with the investigation, but grief counseling will be available.

The school shooting was just the latest among dozens across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas. The classroom killings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to active shooter drills in classrooms. But they have done little to move the needle on national gun laws.

Jacob King, a sophomore football player, said he had dozed off in his world 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 yelling at someone to put down their gun. King said when his class was led out, he saw officers shielding what appeared to be an injured student.

29 Mass Killings in US So Far in 2024

Before Wednesday’s shooting, there had been 29 mass killings in the U.S. so far this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. At least 127 people have died in those killings, which are defined as incidents in which four or more people die within a 24-hour period, not including the killer — the same definition used by the FBI.

Last year ended with 217 deaths from 42 mass killings in the U.S., making 2023 one of the deadliest years on record for such shootings in the country.

Ashley Enoh was at home Wednesday morning when she got a text from her brother, who’s a senior at Apalachee High:

“Just so you know, I love you,” he texted her.

Sophomore Kaylee Abner was in geometry class when she heard gunshots. She and her classmates ducked behind their teacher’s desk, and then the teacher began flipping the desk in an attempt to barricade the classroom door, Abner said. A classmate beside her was praying and she held his hand while the students waited for police.

Layla Ferrell, a junior, was in a health class when the words “hard lockdown” appeared on a screen in the classroom and lights began flashing. Ferrell said she and her frightened classmates piled desks and chairs in front of the door to create a barricade.

Helicopter video from WSB-TV showed dozens of law enforcement and emergency vehicles surrounding the school in Barrow County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta.

When Erin Clark, 42, received a text from her son Ethan, a senior at the high school, that there was an active shooter, she rushed from her job at the Amazon warehouse to the school. The two texted “I love you,” and Clark said she prayed for her son as she drove to the high school.

With the main road blocked to the school, Clark parked and ran with other parents. Parents were then directed to the football field. Amid the chaos, Clark found Ethan sitting on the bleachers.

Clark said her son was writing an essay in class when he first heard the gunshots. Her son then worked with his classmates to barricade the door and hide.

“I’m so proud of him for doing that,” she said. “He was so brave.”

Students had only started the school year a little over a month ago.

“It makes me scared to send him back,” she said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Traffic going to the school was backed up for more than a mile as parents tried to get to their children there.

“It’s just outrageous that every day, in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive,” Vice President Kamala Harris said during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.

In a message posted to social media, former President Donald Trump said: “These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.”

Georgia Gov. Speaks Out

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement: “This is a day every parent dreads, and Georgians everywhere will hug their children tighter this evening because of this painful event.”

The FBI’s Atlanta office said its agents were at the school “coordinating with and supporting local law enforcement.”

Apalachee High School has about 1,900 students, according to records from Georgia education officials. It became Barrow County’s second largest public high school when it opened in 2000, according to the Barrow County School System. It’s named after the Apalachee River on the southern edge of Barrow County.

The shooting had reverberations in Atlanta, where patrols of schools in that city were beefed up, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.

In Winder, Abner said that when she goes home Wednesday night, she hopes to avoid thinking about those terrifying moments in her geometry class.

“I’ll probably not think about it, even though it happened,” she said. “Just think happy thoughts, don’t think about it anymore.”

Sophomore Shantal Sanvee, who was in a classroom near the gunshots, said “I saw, like, a whole lot of blood. And it was just, it was just horrible.”

“I don’t think I want to be here for like a long time now,” she added.

As an officer led the students towards the football stadium, freshman Michelle Moncada was in tears. People who she knew had been shot.

“I was just really, really nervous,” Moncada said.

The stadium was filled with tear-stricken students wondering whether their friends were okay. She saw one of her friends on the floor. A bullet had grazed him.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Moncada said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

It’s Raining Cash for Some 2026 Fresno City Council Hopefuls

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Finds E. Coli at Avocado Lake. Don’t Swim There

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

DON'T MISS

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

DON'T MISS

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

DON'T MISS

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

DON'T MISS

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

DON'T MISS

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

DON'T MISS

Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada Following Palestine Stance

UP NEXT

Fresno County Finds E. Coli at Avocado Lake. Don’t Swim There

UP NEXT

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

UP NEXT

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

UP NEXT

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

UP NEXT

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

UP NEXT

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

UP NEXT

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

UP NEXT

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

UP NEXT

Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada Following Palestine Stance

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Scott Oscar Whitehead

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

3 hours ago

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

3 hours ago

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

4 hours ago

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

4 hours ago

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

4 hours ago

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved From Florida Prison to Lower-Security Facility

5 hours ago

Trump Escalates Trade War With Canada Following Palestine Stance

5 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Scott Oscar Whitehead

6 hours ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

6 hours ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

6 hours ago

It’s Raining Cash for Some 2026 Fresno City Council Hopefuls

In 10 months, voters in four Fresno City Council districts head to the polls to begin a major reshaping of the seven-member panel. Candidate...

1 hour ago

Fresno city hall with council campaign finance money
1 hour ago

It’s Raining Cash for Some 2026 Fresno City Council Hopefuls

E. coli identified at avocado lake
2 hours ago

Fresno County Finds E. Coli at Avocado Lake. Don’t Swim There

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Republican Senators, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Trump Fires US Labor Department’s Statistical Leader After Weaker Than Expected Jobs Report

Breaking News from Reuters
3 hours ago

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2025. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Trump Eyes Bringing Azerbaijan, Central Asian Nations Into Abraham Accords, Sources Say

4 hours ago

Farmers in West Fresno County to Consider 200% Groundwater Pumping Fee Hike

President Donald Trump speaks after disembarking Marine One, as he departs for Scotland, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 25, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
4 hours ago

Trump Orders Nuclear Submarines Moved Near Russia

4 hours ago

Fresno Councilmember Vang Accused of Conflict of Interest in Budget Vote

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend