A shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday left two students and two teachers dead, and authorities said the attack was carried out by a 14-year-old boy who attended the school.
At least nine people were taken to the hospital after the incident at Apalachee High School in Winder, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Authorities said at an afternoon news conference that the suspect was alive and in custody, and that he quickly surrendered after officers, including two school security guards, entered the school and confronted him.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey took the unusual step of naming a minor, Colt Gray, as a suspect, who he said would be charged as an adult with four counts of murder.
“The more important thing I have to say to you here is my sincere condolences to the parents and students who were here,” he said.
He did not disclose the type of firearm used or how it was obtained.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith grew emotional while speaking to reporters late Wednesday afternoon.
“This hits home for me. I was born and raised here. I went to school in this school system, my kids go to this school system. I'm proud of this school system,” he said, fighting back tears.
“My heart breaks for these kids. My heart breaks for our community. But I want to be very clear that hate will not win in this county. Love will win what happened today. I can assure you of that.”
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both condemned the killing. In a statement from the White House, the US president called on Congress to pass new gun control laws. Biden and Harris, who will be the Democratic presidential candidates in the November election, also said: Called it He called it a “senseless tragedy” and called for “an end to the epidemic of gun violence.”
“It doesn't have to be this way,” Harris added.
Students at the school described their horror as they heard gunshots and screams outside their classrooms. Police said it was the 385th mass shooting in the US this year. Gun Violence Archive.
Other reports said five high schools in the area, including Apalachee, received calls Wednesday morning threatening mass shootings.
Local television footage showed students gathering on the school's football field and at least two people being taken by helicopter to a local hospital.
A spokesman for Grady Health System in Atlanta said they had taken in one shooting victim. An official at Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said one adult was undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to the abdomen and one minor was being treated for an unknown injury.
Biden, In a statementHe said the shooting was “another horrific example of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart,” and called on Republicans in Congress to work with Democrats to pass “common-sense gun safety legislation” that would include bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and universal background checks for gun buyers.
“These measures will not bring back those tragically lost today, but they will help prevent even more tragic gun violence from ripping even more families apart,” the president said.
Students caught in the crossfire described hearing gunfire and screams. He told ABC News He was in chemistry class when he heard the gunfire.
“A teacher went to open the door to see what was going on and another teacher came running and told the teacher to close the door because there was a shooter,” Caldera said.
He said the teacher locked the door and students huddled in the back of the classroom before someone banged on the classroom door multiple times and yelled “Open up!”, then after the knocking stopped he heard gunshots and screams.
Another student, Layella Sayalath, told CNN she heard the gunman fail to enter the classroom, then turn around in the hallway and start firing at students.
“They wouldn't let him in and we heard the gunfire,” she said. “He didn't talk much, he was very quiet.”
Talking about her son's previous school attendance, she added: “He hardly ever came to school, he would either not come or skip classes.”
Ashley Eno said she was at home when she received a text message from her brother, a senior at Apalachee High School, which has about 1,900 students.
“Just to let you know, I love you,” the message read.
Students were evacuated to the school's soccer field and were later allowed to reunite with their families.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said FBI and ATF agents were on the scene and that the Justice Department “stands ready to provide” any assistance needed by the GBI and local authorities.
“My heart is broken for the families affected by this tragic event,” he said at a press conference at the Justice Department about alleged Russian interference in the US election.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement about X. “My prayers go out to the high school students, staff and families affected by this act of violence in Winder, Georgia,” the mayor wrote.
“APD [Atlanta police department] “We also stand by in case other law enforcement agencies need assistance with this case. May God grant comfort to the victims and their loved ones in the difficult days ahead.”
The FBI field office in Atlanta sent agents to the high school to assist local police, said office spokeswoman Jenna Sellitto.
There have been hundreds of mass shootings in schools and colleges in the United States over the past two decades.
of Gun Violence Archive Before Wednesday's Georgia shooting, the group reported that there had been 384 mass shootings in the United States this year, with more than 11,500 people killed by gunfire, excluding suicides. The group defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more victims are killed or shot, excluding the shooter.
Chris Brown, president of the gun control group Brady,
“As students across the country return to the classroom this week, we have already seen another tragic school shooting. There is no world in which this can be tolerated. There is no world in which children should be forced to run and hide from a shooter in their school hallways. There is no world in which loved ones, like Winder's parents, have to wait to find out if their child will come home from school alive.”
“Thoughts, prayers and platitudes are never enough. Gun violence is a national crisis that demands action.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed reporting
