Georgia lawmakers have debated what safety measures can be implemented in schools across the state to reduce gun violence following the shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County.
Members of the Georgia Senate Safe Firearms Storage Study Committee discussed Thursday what should be done to prevent school shootings, as Wednesday's shooting adds urgency to address safety concerns. Fox 5 Atlanta.
“With these bills, we're trying to put safeguards in place that will make it harder for anyone, whether they're a bad actor or someone with a mental health issue, to possess a weapon in Georgia,” Democratic state Rep. Yasmin Neal said during the committee.
Four people were killed and nine injured in a school shooting on Wednesday. The suspect, 14-year-old student Colt Gray, has been taken into custody and charged with murder.
Georgia school shooting: New audio of suspect's father's encounter with police over online threats in 2023
Flowers are placed on the sign at Apalachee High School following a school shooting that left four people dead and many more injured, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Ben Hendren, Fox News Digital) (Ben Hendren for Fox News Digital)
The two students killed in the shooting were identified as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and the two adults killed were identified as math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimy.
A Georgia Senate committee is currently considering what new measures can be added to curb gun violence while at the same time protecting the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
“The human mind doesn't know what tomorrow is going to bring, but we can control our weapons, we can keep them safe, we can lock them away,” said Democratic state Sen. Emanuel Jones, who chairs the committee. “We can hold weapon owners accountable for their use. There are things we can do.”
Pastor Chimaine Douglas prays in front of the Apalachee High School sign Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, following a school shooting that left four people dead and many injured. (Ben Hendren for Fox News Digital)
The committee noted that Georgia lawmakers allocated additional funding for school security last year, including funding for school resource officers.
“The problem we haven't solved is how to deal with young people who are coming into schools and shooting up schools,” said Republican state Sen. Frank Ginn.
Sarah Walker, a spokeswoman for Georgia Moms for Change, gave an emotional speech at the committee meeting, calling on state lawmakers to take action to end gun violence in Georgia schools.
Georgia high school shooting suspect's father, Collin Gray, charged with murder, manslaughter and child abuse
From left to right: Math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimy were killed at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, along with Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, according to authorities. (Fox News)
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“Sending your child to school and thinking you'll never see them again is a uniquely American nightmare,” Walker lamented. “Thoughts and prayers are good, they're needed, they're necessary, but laws and policies are going to solve the problems we have.”
The suspect's father, Collin Gray, 54, is charged with multiple offenses over his son's actions, including four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of child abuse. Authorities have said Gray knowingly allowed his son to possess a weapon.
