Authorities have identified the four victims who were fatally shot during the tragic incident at Apalachee High School on Wednesday. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the victims include two teachers, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, and two students, Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, 14.
Nine others were hospitalized following the shooting, including eight students and one teacher. Among the injured is David Phenix, who was shot in the foot and hip, shattering his hip bone. His daughter, Katie, shared on social media that her father is stable after surgery and arrived at the hospital alert and awake.
An eyewitness, a 14-year-old student in the classroom when the shooter entered, recounted the scene, describing how the gunman, identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, fired approximately ten shots. “I started running, he started shooting, like, like 10 times,” the student said, adding that he dived behind a desk while this teacher shielded him from the bullets. “The gunshots were so close to me… my ears started ringing real bad,” the student recalled. He described how the classroom was filled with smoke, and chaos ensued as the shooter left the room, prompting the teacher to barricade the door with desks and bookshelves.
The student also recalled seeing a classmate bleeding heavily on the floor and another who had been grazed in the leg. “There was a white girl in front of me. She got shot in her leg, and then my other friend got shot in her stomach. It was just so sad.” The student expressed the trauma of the event, saying, “It just keeps replaying back in my head. I just thank God that I wasn’t the one that got hit.”
In response to the tragedy, GoFundMe is verifying fundraisers for the families and has created a centralized hub for those looking to provide financial support.
The shooting occurred around 10:23 a.m., prompting a swift response from the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, the GBI, and multiple other agencies. The 14-year-old suspect is currently in custody, and authorities are investigating to gather more information about the suspect and their possible motives.
“First and foremost, we wanna lift up our community, give our sympathies to our community, school system, kids, parents, that had to witness this today,” said Sheriff Jud Smith. “Obviously, what you see behind us is an evil thing today.”
