Tragedy struck Apalachee High School in northern Georgia on Wednesday morning when a shooting left four people dead and nine others injured. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) confirmed that a suspect has been taken into custody, but neither the suspect nor the victims have been identified at this time.
The gunman is believed to be a 14-year-old boy, according to CNN.
“What you see behind us is an evil thing today,” said Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith during a press conference held on the school grounds. Smith confirmed that “we have multiple injuries” but did not provide more detailed information about the nature of those injuries.
The shooting occurred at approximately 10:23 a.m. EDT at the high school in Winder, Georgia, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. The school was immediately placed on lockdown as reports of an active shooter began circulating online. Law enforcement officers were quickly dispatched to the scene, and the premises were cleared within an hour. Students were then released to their families.
Sheriff Smith indicated that “this is a very, very fluid investigation” and noted that “this is going to take multiple days for us to get answers as to what happened and why this happened.”
A spokesperson for Grady Health System, which operates Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, confirmed that staff had received one gunshot wound patient from Apalachee High School. However, details about the conditions of others injured were not immediately clear.
A heavy police presence was observed at the school on Wednesday morning, with dozens of ambulances, officers, and a medical helicopter on site. Aerial footage from CBS affiliate WANF showed emergency services gathered in the parking lot and on the green outside the building. One person was seen being transferred into a helicopter on a stretcher, while students were evacuated to the school’s stadium, where buses were set to pick them up.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were also called to the scene. FBI Atlanta confirmed in a statement shared on social media that they were “coordinating with and supporting local law enforcement.”
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp addressed the incident on social media, stating, “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.”
“We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation,” Kemp added.
President Joe Biden and his administration were also made aware of the shooting. The White House Press Office released a statement saying, “President Biden has been briefed by his Homeland Security Advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall, on the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, and his administration will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as we receive more information.”
Follow us on:
