Connect with us

Southeast

Georgia high school shooting: Authorities identify 2 teachers, 2 students as victims killed

Published

on

Georgia high school shooting: Authorities identify 2 teachers, 2 students as victims killed

Authorities have identified the four victims who were killed in the shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday morning when a student opened fire inside the school. 

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director (GBI) Chris Hosey said two 14-year-old students and two teachers were killed during the shooting. 

Hosey identified two students killed at Apalachee High School as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Hosey said math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie were also killed during the shooting. 

Mason Schermerhorn

Schermerhorn, who was autistic, was believed to have wandered away from the school after dismissal, according to Channel2Now.

GEORGIA SCHOOL SHOOTING: LIVE UPDATES

Advertisement

Friends of Schermerhorn’s mother told the New York Times that he was known for having an “upbeat attitude about everything.” He was lighthearted and enjoyed reading and video games, the people told the outlet.

Mason Schermerhorn, 14, was killed in a shooting Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Fox News)

Richard Aspinwall

One of the faculty victims, Aspinwall, was also football coach at the school. 

“Coach Aspinwell was one of the most kindhearted teachers I have ever met. He always made it known that if I needed help with anything he was there,” a student wrote in a tribute on Instagram.

GEORGIA SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT ON FBI RADAR SINCE 2023 AS POSSIBLE THREAT AFTER ONLINE REMARKS

Advertisement

“He was so funny, talked about his wife and kids with pride and showed all of his students that he cared for them,” the post continued. 

Richard Aspinwall at the track with his two kids.

Richard Aspinwall, a math teacher and assistant football coach, was killed in a shooting Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Fox News)

Photo of Richard Aspinwall.

Richard Aspinwall, a math teacher and assistant football coach, was killed in a shooting Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Fox News)

On Wednesday, authorities identified Colt Gray, now 14, as the shooter who killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School. Gray surrendered to authorities and was taken into custody following the rampage. 

APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS RECOUNT HORROR OF DEADLY SHOOTING

Christian Angulo

Christian Angulo, 14, was also killed. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that his schoolmates described him as funny and enjoyable to be around. One student who said he was longtime friends of Angulo said he was “in denial”

Lisette Angulo identified herself as Christian’s elder sister on a GoFundMe page that has raised over $50,000 for his funeral.

Advertisement

“He was a very good kid and very sweet and so caring. He was so loved by many. His loss was so sudden and unexpected. We are truly heartbroken. He really didn’t deserve this,” she wrote on the site.

Christian Angulo at his 14th birthday party.

Christian Angulo, 14, was killed in a shooting Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Fox News)

Christina Irimie

Math teacher Christina Irimie was also named as one of the fatalities. Her students described her as patient and caring, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Selfie photo of Christina Irimie.

Math teacher Christina Irimie was killed in a shooting Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Fox News)

An AR platform-style weapon was used in the shooting, Hosey said. 

“As a follow to the Joint Statement just released, the subject referred to as the 13-year-old is the same subject in custody related to today’s shootings at Apalachee High School,” the FBI said.

Investigators are still trying to determine if anyone was specially targeted, but they were not aware of any known connections between Gray and the victims.

Advertisement

“Within minutes, law enforcement was on scene as well as two school resource officers assigned here to the school,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. 

Gray will be charged with murder and prosecuted as an adult, according to Smith.

Authorities said there is no evidence to support that any additional shooter was involved in the shooting and investigators are actively pursuing leads from any potential associates of the shooter. 

GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING: BIDEN DECRIES ‘MORE SENSELESS GUN VIOLENCE’

People leave Apalachee High School

People leave Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga.  (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

In a joint statement, the FBI’s Atlanta field office and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said the agency’s National Threat Operations Center received an anonymous tip about threats posted online regarding a possible school shooting in May 2023.

Advertisement

The agencies said that the threats contained images of guns. 

Within 24 hours of receiving the anonymous tip, investigators determined the threats originated in Georgia and the matter was referred to the sheriff’s office.

“The Jackson County Sheriffs’ Office located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father,” the FBI said. “The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them.”

The agencies said the boy denied making the threats and authorities alerted local schools to monitor the child. 

“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,” the FBI said.

Advertisement

Gray is being booked and is currently being held at the Barrow County Detention center. 

There were three school resource officers at the school today when the shooting began who were able to make contact with the shooter, who gave up immediately, authorities said.

The remaining shooting victims are expected to recover and the Barrow County Sheriff says they don’t expect any more fatalities at this time. 

Fox News’ Gabriele Regalbuto, Louis Casiano and Mitch Picasso contributed to this report. 

Advertisement

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Southeast

Videos taken inside Apalachee High School show gun, ordered evacuations

Published

on

Videos taken inside Apalachee High School show gun, ordered evacuations

Videos taken inside Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, following Wednesday’s mass shooting show a sense of calm amid the chaos.

Sophomore Alexsandra Romero, 15, was sheltering with classmates inside a classroom when she caught footage of law enforcement officers entering the room and directing them down a corridor to exit. 

“Single file line down this aisle right here after this deputy,” an officer is heard saying. “Hurry up now, come on, let’s go. We got a whole school to get evacuated, people, come on now.”

Romero told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she thought what was happening was a drill.

GEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING: 4 DEAD, 1 SUSPECT IN CUSTODY, AUTHORITIES SAY

Advertisement

An officer can be seen directing students out of a classroom at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Sept. 4, 2024. (Alexsandra Romero/Joel Romero via Storyful)

“I can just remember my hands were shaking,” Romero said. “I felt bad because everybody was crying, everybody was trying to find their siblings.”

Another video captured by the teen on her way out of the school shows a body covered by a sheet with blood surrounding it and firearms on the floor. 

WHO IS THE ALLEGED GEORGIA SCHOOL SHOOTER? WHAT WE KNOW

Authorities identified the four victims who were killed as two teachers and two students.

Advertisement

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey identified the teachers as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irmie, who both taught math, and the students as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14.

Nine others were taken to various hospitals with gunshot wounds.

Students evacuated from Apalachee High School

Students walk down a corridor in Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday following a mass shooting. (Alexsandra Romero/Joel Romero via Storyful)

On Wednesday, authorities identified Colt Gray, now 14, as the suspected shooter. Gray surrendered to authorities and was taken into custody following the rampage. 

Gray had been on the FBI’s radar as a possible threat since last year, the agency confirmed. 

Advertisement

“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,” the FBI said.

Fox News’ Stepheny Price, Gabriele Regalbuto and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Southeast

SEE IT: Mystery surfer caught on video saving bird drowning in the waves: 'A hero'

Published

on

SEE IT: Mystery surfer caught on video saving bird drowning in the waves: 'A hero'

Social media users are seeking to name a surfer caught on video who saved a struggling seabird earlier this week in Florida.

Identifying the Good Samaritan on a surfboard in the viral video has been no ‘shore thing,’ however. The video has been shared hundreds of times on Reels.

Brandon Terronez, who took the video while walking the pier at Cocoa Beach, said to FOX 35 Orlando. “He’s a hero to a lot of people.”

AUSTRALIAN SURFER SAVED BY OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER AFTER SHARK RIPPED OFF LEG, DOCTORS HOPE TO REATTACH IT

“We did think that poor bird might be done for in that moment,” said Terronez to FOX 35 Orlando.

Advertisement

Out of the blue, a surfer gently scooped up the bird in distress and placed it on his surfboard before paddling back to shore.

“[The bird] was either waterlogged or it was pushed in from a storm,” Heather Pepe-Dillon told FOX 35 Orlando.

The mystery surfer gingerly scooped up the struggling bird before taking it back to shore. (WOFL)

Pepe-Dillon’s agency, Wild Florida Rescue, responds to calls for wildlife in distress in Brevard County, Florida.

“If this man would have come into shore, called in, it would not have been rescued, so this is a fantastic case, and we love to see it,” added Pepe-Dillon.

Advertisement

BRAZILIAN SURFER HOVERS ABOVE OCEAN IN VIRAL PHOTO, BREAKS OLYMPIC SURFING RECORD

Wild Florida Rescue was not called in this specific instance, but from the video, Heather Pepe-Dillon believes the bird may have been a sooty tern. The seabirds cannot survive when caught in rough waters.

“It was either waterlogged or it was pushed in from a storm,” said Pepe-Dillon to FOX 35 Orlando. “They just get colder and colder, and they could get hypothermia.”

surfer paddles away with bird

Social media users are calling this mystery surfer a “hero” after paddling away with a bird in distress. (WOFL)

The video continues to garner attention on social media. “I thought it would be seen by a few people on my Facebook list,” said Brandon Terronez to FOX 35 Orlando. “Instead, it has blown up quite a bit.”

One of the top comments reads, “and then God created surfers.” 

Advertisement

“It may only take a few seconds out of your day like this surfer, and it can have a ripple effect, you know, make a lasting impact,” said Terronez. 

Fox News Digital has not yet found success in identifying the mystery surfer in the video.

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Southeast

Apalachee High School shooting victim Mason Schermerhorn sent last text to mom from restroom, chaplain says

Published

on

Apalachee High School shooting victim Mason Schermerhorn sent last text to mom from restroom, chaplain says

Mason Schermerhorn last texted his mom from the restroom before he was discovered as one of the four killed in a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, a chaplain and youth minister who tried to help find the teen said. 

Ronald Clark had stopped at a store on his way home Wednesday morning, when he learned of the shooting from his wife via phone call.

He rushed to the scene, and quickly offered his services to law enforcement at the command post. He was instructed to assist crews on the investigative side. 

About an hour later, he said he started seeing the students, who were “hurt.”

VIDEOS TAKEN INSIDE APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOW GUN, ORDERED EVACUATIONS

Advertisement

Mason Schermerhorn, 14, was killed in a shooting Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Fox News)

“You want to have the arms big enough to grab everybody, but it’s only so much that you can do,” he said, calling the situation “challenging.”

He described the look on victims’ faces as “shock,” and said those who provided their testimonies to him in an attempt to cope were “strong.”

About 30 minutes later, Clark said he began assisting Schermerhorn’s mother, who is his coworker, with trying to find him.

“It was hard, because we were just talking about her kids on Tuesday this week,” Clark said. “She was saying that the bond and the connection she has with her kids is unbreakable.”

Advertisement

APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS IDENTIFIED, STUDENT SUSPECT WAS FLAGGED TO FBI LAST YEAR

Former Mason Schermerhorn teacher lies flowers

Wes Robertson, area county teacher and former teacher of slain student Mason Schermerhorn, lays flowers at the entrance sign of Apalachee High School on September 5, 2024, in Winder, Georgia. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Schermerhorn’s mother told the chaplain she believed that the 14-year-old autistic student was okay.

“‘Hey, I can’t find him,” Clark remembers her saying. “‘I’m just here to pick him up. I know he’s safe. He text me that he’s in the restroom. Can you please help?’”

Clark then took a photo of the teen to the command post, where he quickly learned that Schermerhorn was one of the “confirmed” dead. 

Four-way split photo of the victims of the Apalachee High School shooting

From left to right: Math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie were killed at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, along with Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, officials say. (Fox News)

“He was a great kid, from what I was told. Loved life, didn’t have any issues with anyone. He was autistic, but that didn’t stop his glow,” Clark said.  

Advertisement

As for any advice the youth minister could give parents, it is to maintain communication with their kids. 

“You don’t understand how much we are valued at home,” he said, adding that some children’s faces lit up on Wednesday when they were reunited with their parents following the school shooting. “Pay attention to your children.”

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending