By Jeff Amy
Associated Press
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 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.
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.
“I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement.
“We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation,” Kemp added.
In a statement, the FBI’s Atlanta office said: “FBI Atlanta is aware of the current situation at Apalachee High School in Barrow County. Our agents are on scene coordinating with and supporting local law enforcement.”
The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed about the shooting and the administration will coordinate with federal, state and local officials as it receives more information.
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, authorities said. More patrols of Atlanta schools would be done “for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.
