Southeast
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.
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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.
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“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, 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)
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.
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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.
“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, 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.
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.
“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.
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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.
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.
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.
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Southeast
High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student
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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).
Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.
GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.
A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)
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Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.
This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.
The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.
Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Federal court clears way for Ten Commandments to be displayed in Louisiana public school classrooms
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A federal appeals court cleared the way Friday for a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, lifting a lower court block and reigniting debate over religion in public education.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit voted 12-6 to lift a block first imposed in 2024, finding it was too early to determine the constitutionality of the law. Critics argue the requirement violates the separation of church and state, while supporters say the Ten Commandments are historical and foundational to U.S. law.
The court said in the majority opinion that it was unclear how schools would display the poster-sized materials, noting that the law allows additional content, like the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence, to appear alongside the Ten Commandments.
The majority wrote that there were not enough facts to “permit judicial judgment rather than speculation” when evaluating potential First Amendment concerns.
A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a lower court block on Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom law, bringing the measure closer to taking effect. (John Bazemore/AP)
In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote that the law was constitutional and “consistent with our founding traditions.”
“It is fully consistent with the Constitution, and what’s more, it reinforces our Founders’ firm belief that the children of America should be educated about the religious foundations and traditions of our country,” Ho said, adding that the law “affirms our Nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”
Circuit Judge James L. Dennis, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote in a dissenting opinion that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms would amount to “exposing children to government‑endorsed religion in a setting of compulsory attendance.”
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A federal appeals court ruling on Feb. 20 allows Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom mandate to proceed for now. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
“That is precisely the kind of establishment the Framers anticipated and sought to prevent,” he added.
The ACLU of Louisiana and other groups representing the plaintiffs said they would pursue additional legal challenges to block the law.
“Today’s ruling is extremely disappointing and would unnecessarily force Louisiana’s public school families into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole in every school district,” the groups wrote in a joint-statement. “Longstanding judicial precedent makes clear that our clients need not submit to the very harms they are seeking to prevent before taking legal action to protect their rights.”
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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised the appeals court decision on Feb. 20 allowing the Ten Commandments classroom law to move forward. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Friday praised the court’s decision, writing on Facebook, “Common sense is making a comeback!”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement following the ruling, saying schools “should follow the law.”
“Don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial. My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law, and we have created multiple examples of posters demonstrating how it can be applied constitutionally,” she said.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said schools should follow the Ten Commandments display law after a federal appeals court lifted a lower court block on Feb. 20. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Joseph Davis, an attorney representing Louisiana in the case, celebrated the court’s decision.
“If the ACLU had its way, every trace of religion would be scrubbed from the fabric of our public life,” he said in a statement. “That position is at odds with our nation’s traditions and our Constitution. We’re glad the Fifth Circuit has allowed Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in its public school classrooms.”
Friday’s ruling came after the full court agreed to reconsider the case, months after a three-judge panel ruled the Louisiana law unconstitutional.
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A similar law in Arkansas faces a federal court challenge, while Texas implemented its own Ten Commandments classroom requirement last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Guy Fieri once had ‘nothing else to sign’ on the beach but postcards; now, he’s built a food TV empire
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MIAMI BEACH – Twenty years ago, a contestant named Guy Fieri on the second season of what was then “The Next Food Network Star” showed up at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival with little more than spiked hair and ambition.
“He came to that festival that year and was walking around signing postcards because he had nothing else to sign,” recalled Lee Brian Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and its New York City counterpart.
Today, Fieri is one of the most recognizable faces in food on television. But, in 2006, he was just another up-and-comer working a crowd on the sand.
Speaking to “Fox & Friends” from Miami Beach, Florida, Friday morning, Fieri said he wasn’t chasing TV fame.
“I was doing what I wanted to do,” he told Steve Doocy while walking the beach. “I wanted to be a great dad. I wanted to be a great husband. I wanted to be a chef. I wanted to own my own restaurant. So, I had accomplished the things I wanted in life and never really saw the other side of it.”
South Beach Wine & Food Festival founder Lee Brian Schrager and celebrity chef Guy Fieri pose for a photograph back in 2009. (South Beach Wine & Food Festival)
Two decades later, Fieri still comes back.
“He’s been part of our festival every year since he won ‘Food Network Star,’” Schrager told Fox News Digital.
The knack for spotting and elevating talent is part of the festival’s legacy as it marks its 25th year in Miami Beach.
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Schrager recalled a similar instinct with Giada De Laurentiis. When her agent suggested she might be ready the following year, Schrager pushed back.
“I said, ‘I don’t want her next year. I want her this year so she’ll remember where she got her big start,’” Schrager said.
Giada De Laurentiis, pictured here in 2015, was another celebrity chef who got her start at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. (Manny Hernandez/Getty Images)
Yet the festival doesn’t claim to have created celebrity chefs.
“We don’t take responsibility for turning anyone into a superstar,” Schrager told Fox News Digital. “We do take some credit for giving them a platform and putting them in front of their fans.”
“Rock stars became chefs and chefs became rock stars.”
Over the past 20 years, the platform has grown alongside the broader transformation of food culture.
“Rock stars became chefs and chefs became rock stars,” Schrager said.
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What began as a one-day wine event on the campus of Florida International University evolved after Schrager was tasked with reimagining it. His directive was to “make it better — not bigger, but better.”
Schrager had a solution.
The South Beach Wine & Food Festival is where chefs like Fieri “became rock stars,” said Schrager, founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
“Move it to the beach, partner with the Food Network, get all their celebrities and make it more than just local,” Schrager said.
Today, the festival draws marquee names from the culinary world as well as from music and entertainment. Among those who showed up for Thursday night’s Burger Bash event were comedian Bert Kreischer and Cloud 23 hot sauce founder Brooklyn Peltz Beckham.
Chefs don’t get paid for appearances at the festival.
“If it’s somebody new, the first question out of their agent’s mouth is, ‘Oh, what’s the honorarium? What’s the fee?’ I’m like, ‘Zero,’” Schrager said.
Brooklyn Peltz Beckham is among the celebrities to attend the food festival for free. (Scott Roth/Invision/AP)
The model works, Schrager said, because the festival operates as a nonprofit benefiting FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.
“Everyone’s doing it to support the cause, or they’re doing it because they want to do it,” Schrager said. “It’s not a bad place to be in the middle of winter.”
Schrager, left, appears along with Rachael Ray and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham onstage at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Burger Bash. (Scott Roth/Invision/AP)
The festival has raised more than $50 million for student scholarships.
“To me, that’s why we do it,” Schrager said.
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Along the way, the festival has outlasted many imitators and weathered shifting food trends by staying nimble.
“We listened to the consumers,” Schrager said.
Fieri, left, and a shirtless Bert Kreischer share a moment onstage at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
“There was never any ego involved in this festival.”
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He added, “Our goal was never to be the biggest.”
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“It happens that we turned out to be the biggest, but being the best, or at least doing our best, has always been the most important to me.”
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