During a press conference Wednesday evening, Chris Rosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, confirmed to reporters that four people were killed in the shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday morning. Two were students and two were teachers at the school, Rosey said. Nine others were hospitalized with injuries.
Rosey also confirmed that the suspect is a 14-year-old Apalachee student named Colt Gray, who is alive and in police custody. He said Gray “will be charged with murder and treated as an adult.”
“Our priority in this investigation right now is to gather all the facts,” Rosey said. “The investigation will continue for a very long time.”
“I never thought in my career that I would be speaking to the media about something that happened today – the pure evil that happened today,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters, a little emotional. “I want to make it very clear that hate will not prevail in this county.”
Smith said the sheriff’s office has spoken to Gray and is in contact with his family, but did not elaborate on what came out of those conversations. Smith said they “have not identified” the weapon at this time.
The school board announced that schools in Barrow County would remain closed for the rest of the week.
At around 10:20 a.m. ET, officials from multiple agencies and emergency responders were dispatched to the school after reports of an active shooter. About an hour later, the school was evacuated and students were released to their families. Police officers and emergency responders were seen on campus, and at least two people were placed in helicopters to be flown to hospitals, local news station WSB-TV reported.
The FBI branch in Atlanta also said it was helping to investigate the events at the school.
Representatives for the school and the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Yahoo News’ request for comment.
A 17-year-old student told ABC News he was in chemistry class when he heard gunshots. He said his chemistry teacher locked the door while the rest of the class huddled in the back. The student said he heard gunshots and screaming, and at one point someone banged on the classroom door and yelled “open up” several times. The student and his class were later evacuated to the soccer field.
One student told a Fox 5 Atlanta reporter that he initially thought the shooting was faked until he heard screaming. He described being evacuated from the building and seeing a dead body in one of the rooms. “There was a gun on the floor with the bullets and the blood,” he said.
“They prepare you for these things,” a 15-year-old girl told the New York Times. “But at that moment I started crying. I got nervous.”
President Biden issued a statement in response to the shooting, saying, “What should have been a joyful back-to-school celebration in Winder, Georgia, has now become another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart. Students across the country are learning to duck and take cover instead of learning to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, campaigning in New Jersey on Wednesday, called the shooting “a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies.”
In a post on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump called the shooting “tragic” and the suspect “sick and mentally disturbed.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters he was “devastated” by the “terrible tragedy.”
“We are still gathering information, but the FBI and ATF are on the scene working with state, local and federal partners,” Garland said. “The Department of Justice stands ready to provide resources or assistance to the Winder community in the coming days.”
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp wrote on X: “I have deployed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and I 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. We will continue to work with local, state and federal partners as we gather information and continue to respond to this situation.”
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
