Four dead and 9 injured in a shooting at a school in Georgia

2024-09-05 11:03:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

A 14-year-old student shot and killed two high school students and two teachers and wounded nine others at a Georgia high school on Wednesday, just weeks after the start of the new school year, authorities said.

The suspect in the attack, identified as Colt Gray, 14, was a student at Apalachee High School in the town of Winder, about an hour from Atlanta, and is in custody. He will be tried as an adult, said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The suspect was speaking with investigators, but they declined to say whether they knew what motivated him for the attack. They also did not say what type of weapon was used.

Sheriff Jud Smith said law enforcement responded quickly after reports of shots fired around 10:20 a.m. The gunman was confronted by a law enforcement officer and immediately surrendered, Mr. Smith said.

Law enforcement brought the situation under control and the students were allowed to leave, a Barrow County schools spokesman said.

ABC News quoted a witness, student Sergio Caldera, as saying he was in chemistry class when he heard gunshots. Caldera, 17, said his teacher had opened the door, but another teacher who was running told her to close it immediately because "a person with a gun was in the school."

While the teacher's students were in the classroom, someone knocked on the door and shouted several times, asking to be opened. When the knocking stopped, Caldera said he heard gunshots and screams. He said his classroom was later evacuated.

The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the incident and added that the administration "will continue to coordinate with federal, state and local officials as we continue to obtain more information." President Biden called on Republicans to work with Democrats to pass gun control laws.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, called the case a "senseless tragedy."

"We have to stop it. We have to end this epidemic of gun violence," Ms. Harris said at the start of a presidential campaign event in New Hampshire.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, wrote on social media that "Our hearts go out to the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, Georgia. Innocent lives were taken by a sick and depraved monster. crazy".

The United States has experienced hundreds of school and university shootings over the past two decades. The bloodiest case was recorded in 2007 at Virginia Tech University, with over 30 dead. These types of killings have sparked heated debates over gun laws and the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the right "to bear arms."/VOA