On September 4th, a 14-year-old freshman at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, opened fire with an AR-15 in the what The New York Times called the “deadliest school shooting in Georgia’s history.”
Two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and two math teachers, Richard Aspinwall, and Christina Irimie, were killed in the mass shooting. Nine other people- eight students and one teacher- were wounded and hospitalized, all of whom are expected to recover.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) states that Colt Gray, the student charged for the attack, had brought the AR-15 to school in his backpack that morning. He asked his teacher if he could leave the classroom to go to the front office and speak to someone, and was allowed take his belongings with him. However instead of going to the front office, the GBI said Gray went to the restroom and hid from teachers before taking out the rifle and allegedly starting to shoot.
Colt Gray will be charged with murder and tried as an adult. His father, Colin Gray, has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the shooting. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith confirmed that the weapon had been legally purchased by the father of the accused shooter, and a family member claims Colin Gray gave the rifle to his son as a Christmas gift.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican whose district includes Barrow County, said that he and his wife “are praying for the victims, their families, and all students at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.” He also pledged any assistance needed.
In an Education Week analysis, there have been 28 school shootings since the start of this year, and according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, the Apalachee shooting is the 16th mass shooting in Georgia this year. In fact, the growing childhood death rates between 2019 and 2021 are primarily due to firearm injuries, drug overdoses, and car accidents. In 2020, firearms surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death for children and teens. Deaths due to firearm-related injuries — including death by homicide, suicide, or accident — were around 20% of all child and teen deaths in 2020 and 2021, the largest proportion in at least four decades. Firearms-related injuries have been the leading cause of death for Black children and teenagers for at least two decades.
With children are dying at the highest rate in 13 years (usafacts.org) and school shootings continue to happen, what will it take to prevent future tragedies, and when will this change happen?
