This is a developing story.
Colt Gray, the alleged gunman who opened fire at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, killed four people and injured at least nine Wednesday morning when he began shooting at innocent victims inside the school, police say.
Officials said the four victims killed were two students, Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, 14, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irmie.
Gray, a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School and the sole suspect, opened fire using an “AR-platform style weapon,” according to GBI Director Chris Hosey.
During a press conference Wednesday evening, Hosey said that officials are still investigating where Gray obtained the weapon.
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A joint statement from the FBI’s Atlanta field office and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was released on Wednesday and revealed that law enforcement received an anonymous tip in 2023 about online threats regarding a possible school shooting.
The subject referred to in the statement was a 13-year-old who “is the same subject in custody related to today’s shootings at Apalachee High School,” the FBI said.
“The FBI referred this information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for action,” Hosey said.
“The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office identified and located Gray, who is our suspect in this case. They conducted an investigation at that time and there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action. This is not recent. This is in the past, but we wanted to bring that to your attention because we are pursuing that.”
In accordance with investigations, law enforcement is also looking into prior contact between Gray and his family and the Department of Family and Children Services, according to Hosey.
“This is still a very fluid investigation,” Hosey said. “It is still very active.”
At approximately 10:20 a.m., around two hours after classes at Apalachee had begun, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of an active shooter.
“Within minutes, law enforcement was on scene as well as two school resource officers assigned here to the school,” Hosey said Wednesday afternoon.
“Once they encountered the subject, the subject immediately surrendered to these officers, and he was taken into custody,” Hosey added.
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Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Wednesday night that teachers at Apalachee High School are individually armed with a Centegix ID which alerts law enforcement officers of an active incident when a button is pressed.
“The protocols at this school and this system activated today prevented this from being a much larger tragedy than what we had here today,” Hosey said.
“Those that are deceased are heroes in my book,” Hosey told reporters. “Those that are in the hospital recovering right now are heroes in my book.”
Hosey added that joined in heroism are the faculty and staff at Apalachee for their admirable efforts in acting quickly and protecting the lives of innocent students.
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Smith advised that Gray is being held at a detention center and will be transported to Regional Youth Detention Centers (RYDC) in Dalton.
He will be charged with murder and prosecuted as an adult, according to Hosey.
“When someone preys on kids, it’s tragic,” Smith said. “Pure evil did what happened today.”
Local law enforcement is coordinating both the investigation and charges with District Attorney Brad Smith of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit.
“The priority right now for us, within this investigation, is to gather all the facts,” Hosey said. “This is a murder investigation.”
Surviving victims have been taken to local hospitals to be treated for various degrees of injury, according to law enforcement.
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