Apalachee High School shooting: Things to know today

ATLANTA — A 14-year-old is accused of shooting and killing two fellow students and two teachers and injuring nine others at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.

News develops quickly in high-profile cases, and it can be difficult to catch up with what has transpired. Here is a summary of what we know. It will be updated periodically as more information is confirmed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through law enforcement or official records.

Quick facts

Around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and GBI, responded to the school. It was placed on lockdown following reports of an active shooting, the Barrow County sheriff’s office said. The school is located about 45 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

By late Wednesday, the GBI identified two of the victims as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. The two teachers killed were assistant football coach Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, a math teacher according to the school’s website.

The suspect was identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, who had previously been investigated by local and federal law enforcement for allegedly threatening a shooting at an unspecified time and location.

What we know about the victims

Aside from the initial identifications, details about the victims are still trickling out.

First, the students: Christian and Mason.

Christian’s family has said he was “very sweet and so caring.”

“He was so loved by many,” his oldest sister, Lisette Angulo, wrote on a GoFundMe page. “His loss was so sudden and unexpected. We are truly heartbroken. He really didn’t deserve this.”

The AJC has yet to get in touch with Mason’s family, and GoFundMe had not updated its list of verified fundraisers to include any for the Schermerhorns as of Thursday morning. To find all verified fundraisers benefiting Apalachee High School victims, visit this page.

Assistant coach Aspinwall, 39, had been hired as Apalachee’s defensive coordinator prior to the 2023 season and taught math, according to the school’s directory. A Rome native, Aspinwall previously coached at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville and Dunwoody High School.

A GoFundMe has been created for him that will help his wife, Shayna, and “make sure (their) two precious babies are taken care of.”

Irimie’s loved ones wrote in a GoFundMe that she “dedicated her life to shaping the minds and hearts of students and the community.”

The 53-year-old had immigrated from Romania more than two decades ago and was active in the expat community in Georgia, her friend and pastor, Nicolae Clempus, told the AJC. Most of her and her husband’s families still live in Romania and are just learning about what happened, he said.

Irimie didn’t have children of her own but was always surrounded by kids, Clempus said.

“She definitely had a gift to work with young people,” he added.

What we know about the suspect

Colt Gray was a student at the high school and faces murder charges. He is being held in the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center and is expected to be tried as an adult, officials said Wednesday.

His first court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Gray had been investigated in May 2023 by local and federal law enforcement for allegedly threatening a shooting, the FBI Atlanta office said.

At the time, the FBI received several anonymous tips about threats to commit a school shooting made on an online gaming site, the FBI and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement late Wednesday. The threats did not identify a school or when it would happen, but they contained pictures of guns. Investigators tracked the post to Jackson County, where sheriff’s deputies continued the investigation, which led them to a then 13-year-old Gray.

The connection between Jackson and Barrow counties was not clear as of Thursday morning.

“The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them,” the FBI said. “The subject denied making the threats online.”

At the time of the investigation, there was no legal basis to file any charges, the FBI said. But the Jackson sheriff’s office alerted local schools, and Gray was monitored, the FBI added.

How the community is coping

The school district will be closed for the remainder of the week, with grief counselors available for those in need. A vigil was held Wednesday night at a nearby park.

On Thursday morning, flowers were placed at the foot of the welcome sign to Apalachee High School in a growing makeshift memorial.

In Winder, just six miles northeast of the school, Ann’s Flower and Gift Shop’s sign read, “Love will prevail” and “Barrow Strong.”

The shop is selling bows in the school’s colors, navy and gold, to be displayed on mailboxes. All proceeds will go directly to the families affected, the shop owner said.

The owner also said the shop is putting together a flower display for the city to include in a memorial in the center of town Friday.

Additionally, online fundraisers for the victims have been set up, collecting more than $200,000 as of Thursday morning.

What’s next

Gray is scheduled to have a first appearance hearing Friday in Barrow County Superior Court. A time had not been set as of Thursday morning, but a Department of Juvenile Justice spokesperson said it will be held virtually with Gray calling in from the youth detention center.