The networks focused their coverage throughout the afternoon on the latest school shooting, this time in Winder, Georgia, where a 14-year-old is in custody. Officials say two students and two teachers were killed, and nine are in local hospitals.
Colt Gray, a student at Apalachee High School, will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, Chris Hosey of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told reporters.
Authorities received a call about an active shooter around 10:20 a.m. ET and police were on the scene within minutes, Hosey said. Two school security officers met with the shooter shortly after the report was released, he said, and when officers met Gray, he immediately surrendered.
“Our priority right now in this investigation is to gather all the facts and we need to make sure we are accurate in doing so because this is a murder investigation,” he said.
Television networks began reporting with special reports at 12:41 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Norah O’Donnell anchored for CBS News at 12:41 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), with Jared Eggleston on the scene. NBC News’ Lester Holt anchored a special report at 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) and another for a press conference at 1:18 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Diane Macedo anchored ABC News during the hour. Cable news networks stayed with the story throughout the day, showing images of students sheltering in the school’s football stadium.
The consequences of a mass murder usually cause the issue to rise to the top of the agenda for politicians and lawmakers, but then fade into the background again.
But Vice President Kamala Harris referred to the epidemic of gun violence in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention last month.
During a campaign appearance in New Hampshire today, she also spoke about the shootings, saying at a rally: “Our sympathies, of course, go out to all the students and teachers and their families, and we are grateful to the police officers and helpers who were on the scene. But this is simply a senseless tragedy.”
She added: “Our children are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, and part of their big, beautiful brains is worried about a shooter breaking through a classroom door. It doesn’t have to be that way.”
Donald Trump later posted a message on his social media platform Truth Social. “Our condolences go out to the victims and families of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, Georgia. These beloved children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.” Earlier this year, in a speech to the National Rifle Association, Trump promised to roll back the Biden administration’s gun safety measures. These include bipartisan legislation the president signed after the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022. Trump’s stance did not change after the assassination attempt on him in July.
President Joe Biden called the shootings “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 can no longer accept this as normal.” He again called on Congress to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines and take a series of other measures, including universal background checks and an end to immunity for gun manufacturers.
Correspondents gathered witness accounts of the horrific scenes. Sherley Martinez, a senior citizen, told ABC News’ Faith Abubéy that when they heard gunshots, “everyone shuddered into the corner and someone closed the door… We started piling up tables” to barricade the door. Then an announcement came over the PA system that a lockdown had been imposed because of an intruder.
“The children started crying. The children panicked,” Martinez said.
