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2 students, 2 teachers killed at Georgia high school; shooter was 14-year-old student, police say

2 students, 2 teachers killed at Georgia high school; shooter was 14-year-old student, police say
All right. All right. Uh, good evening. Uh, as you can tell we know that it's been *** long day. I wanna thank you for being patient with us today. I wanna thank you for, uh, understanding that this is still an active crime scene. But from the minute that this tragic incident happened today, uh, Governor Kemp has been with me and been talking to me and several times and has been on our side and law enforcement side and I wanted to introduce him to make *** few statements. Uh, again, thank you for your patience and at this time, I'm gonna introduce the governor and then, uh, Director Hosey will, will, uh, take answers and questions after that. Well, thank you, Sheriff. I just wanna thank you and your team for the incredible work that they've done. The response of our first responders today has been unreal, uh, superintendent Luff Principal, uh, Leroy, who just did incredible job with these kids. Uh, this hits home for us, uh, being from Athens just down the road, Marty and I having *** daughter that taught first grade just *** few years ago. Uh, this is everybody's worst nightmare and I just wanna offer my sincere condolences and our thoughts and prayers to the families of that have lost loved ones for those that are injuring and injured and continuing to fight, uh, through just ***, *** tragic time for really this whole community that's been affected by today's actions. And I just, uh, cannot thank the first responders enough. I cannot thank Director Hosey. Um, Colonel Hitchens, Director Stalin at Jima, the whole state response. I wanna thank uh special agent Farley and her team from the FBI FBI that are embedded with us uh in the school as we speak, running down every single lead and other things that Director Hosey will uh mention tonight. Um, you know, I represented Barre County when I was in the State Senate 20 years ago. These are our neighbors, these are our friends and this community is hurting today. And I would just ask all Jordans and all Americans to, can continue to keep these families, these educators and these students and your thoughts and prayers. And we will provide every state resource that is needed from here until they're not uh to support this community and support this team behind me. And with that, I'll turn it over. Director Hosie, thank, go real quick. We wanted to provide some additional updates uh from today's events and, and I will mention too that this will be our last update for the evening. So I please hope you'll understand that. Uh, let me start by saying that there's no evidence to report that any additional shooter was involved in this incident today. Uh investigators are actively pursuing however, any leads of any potential associates of the shooter that was involved in this incident. So I say that to say we're following up any potential leads through the investigation to ensure if there are any associates involved in this, that we tr we find them, we identify them. Uh So that's part of again, the ongoing investigation. Uh There is no evidence of the, of *** list of schools being targeted. However, there is *** lot of evidence that is being recovered and evaluated. We're going through everything to determine if there is any active threats to any schools in this area, this county and the state of Georgia, and we will continue to monitor that uh throughout this investigation throughout the evening as we, as we carry on, there was ***, *** call uh as we're aware of to *** local high school as well this morning with *** reported threat, uh police responded and investigated and determined that there was no uh threat after all. Uh There's been reports that *** Colton Gray who is another student here at the school was involved or *** Colton Colton Gray was uh involved in this. If you recall from *** previous press conference early this afternoon, the individual that we have arrested and will be charged with this name is Colt Gray. Uh but there is another student here at the school with *** very similar name. We want to ensure everyone that Colton Gray is not involved in this incident. That is the name that I provided you earlier this afternoon. So those reports were inaccurate uh if that if that was was passed on to you. I do however want to identify the victims of this, of this incident today. Those that lost their life in this tragic event. Mason Sherma Horn age 14, who is *** student here at the school, Christian Angelo, who is 14, also *** student here at the school, Richard Aspinwall, not uh sure of his age, but he was *** teacher here at the school and Christina uh uh Air air Air Mary. I'm sorry for my pronunciation who was also *** teacher here at the school. We will post *** list of these victims uh for the correct spellings for everyone. Uh Later this evening after we complete the the press conference here also is has has been released. The FB I's National uh threat Operations Center has received, received anonymous tips in the past of online threats to commit school violent or school shootings at an undetermined location. In time. The FBI referred this information to the Jackson County Sheriff office for action. Uh The Jackson County Sheriff's office identified and located gray who is our suspect. In this case, they conducted an investigation at that time and there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action. Uh This is not recent, this is in the past, but we wanted to bring that to your attention uh because we are pursuing that, uh working with the FBI on that in any connection to that, that incident that could be connected to today's incident as well. Also, we're also aware of uh some previous contacts that the Department of Family and children's services in the area had had with the suspect in his family and we're pursuing uh that avenue as well too, to see if that has any connection with today's incident. Let me stress again as we have many times that this is still *** very fluid investigation. It is still very active. Uh We will have agents and there'll be law enforcement personnel that will be put pursuing investigative leads and collecting evidence throughout the night. And then too much of tomorrow I would anticipate as well. We again ask for your patience in that this is *** criminal investigation. Uh And we're gonna treat it like that. Uh So I apologize ahead of time if we don't answer some of the, uh the question that you may ask. So please understand. I also wanna wanna bring note to one very special thing that we do not need to forget about here is we have heroes in our midst. We've talked about our law enforcement personnel, our fire, our ems, uh those that are deceased are heroes in my book, those that are in the hospital recovering right now are heroes in my book. But also the heroes that we need to remember is our faculty and staff here at this school. They acted admirably, they were heroes in the actions that they took the protocols of this school. And this system activated today, prevented this from being *** much larger tragedy than what we had here today. So I wanna recognize them uh as heroes because they are and continue with our thoughts and prayers as has been mentioned for the families that were lost here today. Those that were lost here today. Those that are recovering in the hospital and obviously those that were affected directly by this tragedy here at the school and all of the community of Barrow County. Uh We need to continue to have them in our thoughts and prayers. Another one of these again, can you tell us uh by chance since he's being charged as an adult? Will he be in court? Tomorrow? Will be, will be, he will be booked tonight. I'm not sure of the court appearance, but it will be within *** reasonable amount of time. Is there the weapon that was used in? This was an *** R platform style weapon. So how did Mr Gray get the gun into this? We're still investigating that aspect of it. Did he go out of the classroom and get the gun and come back? We heard some of that from some students. We're still trying to clarify *** lot of the timeline to him. Uh, from the time that he got here to school today until the incident took the last one for me. I mean, so often I know people at home, we always hear something that the FBI has heard something about someone who goes and does one of these tragic events. How can we stop this from happening? Because it feels like this happens every single time. There's *** school shooting that we heard that there was *** prior threat or there's prior knowledge, what when lives are at stake, how can we stop this from happening? Well, there's *** variety of ways in, in my personal opinion, community involvement, what our school system is doing here, uh, to ensure that, uh, whether we'd be able to stop it completely one day or not. I don't know that's that those are decisions that each individual is making on their own to do this. Uh But again, I go back to what I said earlier about the heroes here that prevented things from being *** lot worse today. But we've got to take action within our own communities, take care of each other, uh, be aware of our surroundings and what's going on in our community the last year. And they found hunting rifles in the family home was an *** R platform weapon among those weapons that were in the home during that interview again. That's part of *** lot of the things that we're trying to clarify the situation. Was it from ***, from ***, from *** student? Can you on that was the answer that question, man? Let's get this question right here and then we'll come, you asked, how was I notified? We discussed it. I heard earlier law enforcement here within several minutes. So we're just curious how the notification went through. Did I hear about it from *** student or was it *** faculty that made that call alerting law enforcement? All of our teachers are armed with *** form of an ID called SYN and Strategics alarms us and alerts the law enforcement office after buttons are pressed on an ID and it alerts us to that there is an active situation at the school for whatever reason and that was pressed and we've had that about *** week. Now. We've heard stories of students actually pulling other students while they were in the hallway, while all this chaos is happening while shooting is going on. We've heard stories about students pulling their classmates into the classrooms to get them to secure, to get them to safety. What do you think that says about these, these young folks who are, you know, very 1314, 15 years old that they're looking out for. It's admirable site director Hosey said we have heroes among us and those students and teachers that did that today saved *** lot of lives. This could have been *** way worse than what we and again, the investigation is still trying to file through those that information. But those kids are, are heroes and brave as well to do that. When they hear an active shooter around them, you talk about, let me, let me get this one question right here. Did you have something else, man? No, it was me. I was asking why did the school resource officer not go looking for this kid and approach him and why they sent *** female faculty member to the room to the algebra room. He was in with my daughter looking for him instead of the school resource officer or why the school allowed this boy to come and go from the class all the time. He would go and sign up with the the rest and come back and never come back with with all due respect, ma'am. I think your information is incorrect and our investigation is gonna lead to what we have and we will be glad to answer your questions once that's done. What can you tell us about the Sr Os? You talked about *** lot of heroes. You talked about how one of the Sr Os encountered the shooter. What can you tell us about who they are? How long they've been working here and what they did both of the Sr Os that are here at these high schools, all of my high schools. I have two there. Both of the Sr Os to include *** third one was here today. Not for any other reason other than to help and assist today. Uh They're the true heroes as well. They were actively looking, they had an alert, I guess if you will and when they interjected or when this shooting began, they interacted with the shooter, Mr Gray and as soon as they made contact with him, he gave up immediately. Uh Not at this time, I'd rather not. The shooter is in custody at the Barrow County Detention Center because he is *** juvenile. He's being booked in and he will be transported to Ry DC. Officials or administrators tipped off by ***, I'm not aware of that at this time, Sheriff of Director can say the condition on those injured that were taken to hospital. Have you got any updates on how they're doing all of our victims that are at the hospital, uh are, are gonna make it and going to recover? Well, as we've been told and we don't expect any more fatalities at this time. Last question shooting or tragedy to this scale inside *** Georgia school that you're aware of. Did you speak to that? I I can't speak to that. No. Can you put this in perspective for him? What, what has meant for law enforcement, for students? All of those affected tragic when someone preys on kids. It's tragic. Like I said earlier, hate is not gonna prevail in our county and hate is not gonna prevail in our state and pure evil. Did what happened today? That's all I can tell you. Uh I wanna continue to say that I'm proud of the men and women behind me. I'm proud of the women that stood beside me. I'm proud of the men and women who protected these kids. I'm proud of their staff. I'm proud of this community and I just asked for prayers. Is there any more your office can do to prevent shootings like this? Well, look, we've done *** tremendous amount on school safety, but today is not the day uh for politics or policy. Today is the day for an investigation uh to mourn uh these precious jordans that we have lost to thank the first responders that went, you know, into the line of fire, the school staff superintendent, the principal and others that are just trying to hold this community together. That's what we need to be focused on right now. Uh We also had *** tragic loss of *** firefighter in Greene County earlier today before this event happened with an explosion that killed the life of *** first responder that again was running in uh to danger when many people were trying to run out. And that's what the focus needs to be on tonight. I would ask everybody to continue to keep this community, these victims, uh and these educators and these men and women in law enforcement and your thoughts and prayers. Thank you. Thank you, Governor. I just wanna thank everyone for their patience and taking the time to cover this. Um We ask that you um, continue to follow the GB I for updates. As we said earlier, we're gonna continue to provide updates. It's very important that we get this information out, but right now we really wanna focus on our victims and you can, as I said earlier, continue to follow us um as we provide additional updates. Thank you.
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2 students, 2 teachers killed at Georgia high school; shooter was 14-year-old student, police say
Four people — two students and two teachers — were killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.The suspect has been identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at the high school.The shooter will be charged with murder and will be tried as an adult. He will be booked Wednesday night, according to GBI.During a news conference on Wednesday night, GBI Director Director Chris Hosey identified the four people who were killed. “There are four individuals who are deceased from this incident. Nine that have been taken to local hospitals with various injuries. Of those that are deceased, two were students and two were teachers here at the school,” Hosey said.He said the two students who were killed were both 14 years old. They have been identified as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.The teachers who were killed are Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, according to Hosey. Both of those teachers are listed in the high school's online staff directory as math teachers.The nine other people who were injured have not yet been identified. Of the nine, eight were students and one was a teacher, according to investigators. On Wednesday night, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said all of the victims who were hospitalized are expected to recover. “We don’t expect any more fatalities at this time,” Smith said.What we know:Four people — two students and two teachers — were killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at Apalachee High School.The suspect was identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at the high school.The shooter was slated to be booked Wednesday night and charged with murder. He will be tried as an adult, according to GBI.GBI identified the two students who were killed as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14 years old.The two teachers who were killed have been identified as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie. Video below: Apalachee High School student discusses being evacuated after shootingThe Barrow County Sheriff's Office received reports of a shooting at the school at about 10:20 a.m. ET, and authorities arrived at the school minutes later, GBI said during a 4 p.m. ET press conference.A school resource deputy assigned to the school came in contact with the suspect, who surrendered by getting on the ground. The suspect was then taken into custody by a deputy. During the press conference on Wednesday night, investigators said they are still investigating how the suspect got an “AR-platform style weapon” into the school.“We’re still trying to clarify a lot of the timeline from the time that he got here to school today until the incident took place,” Hosey said.The investigation is ongoing.Video below: During a daytime press conference, GBI director said shooting victims included 2 students and 2 teachers"What you see behind us is an evil thing," Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said earlier in the day Wednesday, standing outside the school. Apalachee High School received a phone call on Wednesday morning, warning that there would be shootings at five schools and that Apalachee would be the first, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN. It is not known who placed the call. Officials told CNN that they are investigating the call and where it originated. Attorney General Merrick Garland addressed the shooting during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force on Wednesday. "I want to address the tragic shooting that occurred this morning at a high school in Winder, Georgia. We are still gathering information, but the FBI and ATF are on the scene working with state, local and federal partners,” Garland said.In a statement released Wednesday night, FBI Atlanta confirmed that it responded to Apalachee High School following reports of an active shooter and that FBI personnel has been coordinating with and supporting local and state law enforcement.In the Wednesday evening statement, FBI Atlanta said that in May 2023, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center “received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time. The online threats contained photographs of guns."FBI Atlanta said that within 24 hours of receiving the tips in May 2023, the FBI determined "the online post originated in Georgia and the FBI's Atlanta Field Office referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office for action.” In the statement, the FBI said that the sheriff’s office “located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father.”At the time, the father told investigators that he had hunting guns in the house, but that “the subject did not have unsupervised access to them,” FBI Atlanta said.“The subject denied making the threats online. Jackson County alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject,” the FBI said in the statement on Wednesday night. “At that time, there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels.”In the statement Wednesday night, FBI Atlanta did not say whether the teenager accused of the shooting at Apalachee High School is the same teenager who was interviewed following the tip it received in May 2023. However, during the nighttime press conference on Wednesday, Hosey said that the teenager referenced in the FBI Atlanta statement is the same suspect who is in custody."This is not recent, this is in the past but we wanted to bring that to your attention because we are pursuing that, working with the FBI on that, and any connection to that incident that could be connected to today's incident as well," Hosey said of the information referenced in the FBI Atlanta statement.In a Facebook post late Wednesday night, GBI said there is no evidence to suggest that there were additional shooters, and that "investigators are actively pursuing all leads regarding any potential associates of the shooter.""There is no evidence of a list of schools being targeted; however, there is a lot of evidence that is being recovered and evaluated," GBI said in the Facebook post. "Investigators are diligently reviewing leads to determine if there are any active threats."In the same Facebook post, GBI addressed a call that was made to another high school in the area on Wednesday morning."There was a call to another local high school this morning with a reported threat. Police responded, investigated, and determined there was no threat," GBI said in the Facebook post.Video below: Students gather in prayer circle after deadly Georgia school shootingPresident Joe Biden released a statement on the shooting, saying, "Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed."In the statement, Biden goes on to call for Republicans to work with Democrats in Congress to pass gun safety legislation."After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say 'enough is enough' and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation," the statement read. "We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers."Video below: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reacts to Georgia school shooting Vice President Kamala Harris called the shooting a "senseless tragedy." Speaking at a rally in New Hampshire on Wednesday, the Democratic presidential nominee said her heart is with the students and teachers of the school. She called for action to curb gun violence."It’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive," Harris said. "We’ve got to stop it," she said, adding that "it doesn’t have to be this way."Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, "Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA. These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster."In a statement posted to X, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said that additional security has been deployed to Atlanta Public Schools "out of an abundance of caution." The state's governor has also commented on the shooting."I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state," Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement posted to his X page. "We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation." The governor also spoke at the news conference on Wednesday night.“This is everybody’s worst nightmare and I just want to offer my sincere condolences and our thoughts and prayers to the families that have lost loved ones, for those that are injured and continuing to fight through just a tragic time,” Kemp said Wednesday night.Apalachee High School has nearly 1,900 students in grades 9-12.The school is in the city of Winder, about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta.CNN contributed to this report.

Four people — two students and two teachers — were killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

The suspect has been identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at the high school.

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The shooter will be charged with murder and will be tried as an adult. He will be booked Wednesday night, according to GBI.

During a news conference on Wednesday night, GBI Director Director Chris Hosey identified the four people who were killed.

“There are four individuals who are deceased from this incident. Nine that have been taken to local hospitals with various injuries. Of those that are deceased, two were students and two were teachers here at the school,” Hosey said.

He said the two students who were killed were both 14 years old. They have been identified as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.

The teachers who were killed are Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, according to Hosey. Both of those teachers are listed in the high school's online staff directory as math teachers.

The nine other people who were injured have not yet been identified. Of the nine, eight were students and one was a teacher, according to investigators. On Wednesday night, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said all of the victims who were hospitalized are expected to recover.

“We don’t expect any more fatalities at this time,” Smith said.


What we know:

  • Four people — two students and two teachers — were killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at Apalachee High School.
  • The suspect was identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at the high school.
  • The shooter was slated to be booked Wednesday night and charged with murder. He will be tried as an adult, according to GBI.
  • GBI identified the two students who were killed as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14 years old.
  • The two teachers who were killed have been identified as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie.

Video below: Apalachee High School student discusses being evacuated after shooting

The Barrow County Sheriff's Office received reports of a shooting at the school at about 10:20 a.m. ET, and authorities arrived at the school minutes later, GBI said during a 4 p.m. ET press conference.

A school resource deputy assigned to the school came in contact with the suspect, who surrendered by getting on the ground. The suspect was then taken into custody by a deputy. During the press conference on Wednesday night, investigators said they are still investigating how the suspect got an “AR-platform style weapon” into the school.

“We’re still trying to clarify a lot of the timeline from the time that he got here to school today until the incident took place,” Hosey said.

The investigation is ongoing.

Video below: During a daytime press conference, GBI director said shooting victims included 2 students and 2 teachers

"What you see behind us is an evil thing," Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said earlier in the day Wednesday, standing outside the school.

Apalachee High School received a phone call on Wednesday morning, warning that there would be shootings at five schools and that Apalachee would be the first, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN.

It is not known who placed the call. Officials told CNN that they are investigating the call and where it originated.


Attorney General Merrick Garland addressed the shooting during a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force on Wednesday. "I want to address the tragic shooting that occurred this morning at a high school in Winder, Georgia. We are still gathering information, but the FBI and ATF are on the scene working with state, local and federal partners,” Garland said.

In a statement released Wednesday night, FBI Atlanta confirmed that it responded to Apalachee High School following reports of an active shooter and that FBI personnel has been coordinating with and supporting local and state law enforcement.

In the Wednesday evening statement, FBI Atlanta said that in May 2023, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center “received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time. The online threats contained photographs of guns."

FBI Atlanta said that within 24 hours of receiving the tips in May 2023, the FBI determined "the online post originated in Georgia and the FBI's Atlanta Field Office referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office for action.” In the statement, the FBI said that the sheriff’s office “located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father.”

At the time, the father told investigators that he had hunting guns in the house, but that “the subject did not have unsupervised access to them,” FBI Atlanta said.

“The subject denied making the threats online. Jackson County alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject,” the FBI said in the statement on Wednesday night. “At that time, there was no probable cause for arrest or to take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state, or federal levels.”

In the statement Wednesday night, FBI Atlanta did not say whether the teenager accused of the shooting at Apalachee High School is the same teenager who was interviewed following the tip it received in May 2023. However, during the nighttime press conference on Wednesday, Hosey said that the teenager referenced in the FBI Atlanta statement is the same suspect who is in custody.

"This is not recent, this is in the past but we wanted to bring that to your attention because we are pursuing that, working with the FBI on that, and any connection to that incident that could be connected to today's incident as well," Hosey said of the information referenced in the FBI Atlanta statement.

In a Facebook post late Wednesday night, GBI said there is no evidence to suggest that there were additional shooters, and that "investigators are actively pursuing all leads regarding any potential associates of the shooter."

"There is no evidence of a list of schools being targeted; however, there is a lot of evidence that is being recovered and evaluated," GBI said in the Facebook post. "Investigators are diligently reviewing leads to determine if there are any active threats."

In the same Facebook post, GBI addressed a call that was made to another high school in the area on Wednesday morning.

"There was a call to another local high school this morning with a reported threat. Police responded, investigated, and determined there was no threat," GBI said in the Facebook post.

Video below: Students gather in prayer circle after deadly Georgia school shooting



President Joe Biden released a statement on the shooting, saying, "Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed."

In the statement, Biden goes on to call for Republicans to work with Democrats in Congress to pass gun safety legislation.

"After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say 'enough is enough' and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation," the statement read. "We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers."

Video below: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reacts to Georgia school shooting

Vice President Kamala Harris called the shooting a "senseless tragedy."

Speaking at a rally in New Hampshire on Wednesday, the Democratic presidential nominee said her heart is with the students and teachers of the school. She called for action to curb gun violence.

"It’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive," Harris said. "We’ve got to stop it," she said, adding that "it doesn’t have to be this way."

Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, "Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA. These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster."

In a statement posted to X, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said that additional security has been deployed to Atlanta Public Schools "out of an abundance of caution."

The state's governor has also commented on the shooting.

"I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state," Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement posted to his X page. "We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation."

The governor also spoke at the news conference on Wednesday night.

“This is everybody’s worst nightmare and I just want to offer my sincere condolences and our thoughts and prayers to the families that have lost loved ones, for those that are injured and continuing to fight through just a tragic time,” Kemp said Wednesday night.

Apalachee High School has nearly 1,900 students in grades 9-12.

The school is in the city of Winder, about 45 miles northeast of Atlanta.

CNN contributed to this report.