Police had already investigated a suspect in a shooting spree at a US school last year because he had threatened to carry out a similar attack.
A 14-year-old boy was arrested after allegedly Shooting of two students and two teachers at a high school in Georgia.
The shooter, identified by police as Colt Gray, was a student at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, where the attack took place. The school was then put on lockdown and the area was searched by officers before he turned himself in.
The four fatalities are students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo (both 14) and teachers Richard Aspenwall (39) and Christina Irimie (53).
Christina Irimie taught mathematics. Photo: Apalachee High School
Richard Aspinwall Image: Apalachee High School
Christian was described by his older sister Lisette Angulo as “a very good, very sweet and caring child.”
“He was loved by so many. His loss was so sudden and unexpected. We are truly heartbroken. He really did not deserve this,” she added.
Suspect already interrogated
In May of last year, the FBI received several anonymous tips about online threats to carry out a school shooting, said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has identified a possible suspect, he said – Gray, then 13 years old.
They questioned Gray and his father, who stated that he had hunting rifles but that his son did not have unsupervised access to them.
Gray himself denied making the threats online. At the time, there was no sufficient reason for an arrest and no further action was taken, Hosey said.
Authorities are currently reinvestigating the incident to determine whether it may be connected to the recent shooting.
Brandy Rickaba and her daughter Emilie at a candlelight vigil for the victims of the school massacre. Photo: AP
Police in front of the school after the attack. Image: AP
“We are also aware of some previous contacts that the Department of Family and Children Services has had with the suspect and his family and we are pursuing that avenue as well,” Mr Hosey added.
Nine people, eight students and a teacher, were hospitalized with injuries from the attack, but it was said that all detainees were expected to recover soon.
Gray is being charged as an adult and the attack was carried out with an AR-style weapon – a weapon often associated with school shootings.
While police are still following up on numerous leads and conducting their investigations, she said that the teachers’ intervention saved many lives.
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Grandmother of a student on shooting in Georgia
Authorities were alerted to the attack by a new alarm system that had been implemented just a week earlier.
Sheriff Jud Smith said: “All of our teachers are issued with an ID card. When a button on the card is pressed, it alerts us and the police officers.
“It makes us aware that there is an acute situation at the school. We have had this for about a week now.”
“Just so you know, I love you”
The words “hard lockdown” appeared on a screen in Layla Ferrell’s health class as lights began flashing.
She and her frightened classmates stacked tables and chairs in front of the door to form a barrier, she said.
Meanwhile, Kaylee Abner was in her geometry class when she heard gunshots.
She said she and her classmates hid behind their teacher’s desk before he began to knock over the desk and barricade the classroom door.
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Ashley Enoh was at home on Wednesday morning when she received a text message from her brother, who is a senior at the same school.
The message read: “Just so you know, I love you.”
When she asked in the family group chat what was going on, he said there was a shooter at school.
