Teen arrested as four died, nine injured in US school shooting

Four people were killed and several others injured in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, Wednesday.

USA Today reports that the victims include two students and two teachers, identified as Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.

Colt Gray, 14, a student at the school, was arrested and charged with murder.

Authorities confirmed that Gray will be prosecuted as an adult.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported that the suspect used an AR-style rifle, and an investigation is ongoing to determine how the weapon was obtained and brought into the school.

Nine individuals, including eight students and one teacher, were hospitalised with injuries that were not life-threatening, GBI Director Chris Hosey said

The shooting prompted a lockdown of schools across Barrow County as a precaution.

Community reacts

Barrow County Sheriff, Jud Smith, emphasised the gravity of the situation, calling it “an evil thing.”

“This is a very, very fluid investigation,” Smith said in a news conference outside the school. “What you see behind us is an evil thing,” Smith said.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden also extended their condolences, calling for urgent action on gun control legislation.

“We cannot continue to accept this as normal,” Biden said.

“What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart,” Biden said. “Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”