GhLinks Media
Two students including Mason Schermerhorn and two teachers were killed and nine others wounded Wednesday in a school shooting an hour outside of Atlanta, authorities said.
One suspect, a 14-year-old student, Colt Gray, was alive and taken into custody following the gunfire at Apalachee High School, Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Chris Hosey said at a news conference late Wednesday afternoon.
Colt Gray surrendered to law enforcement immediately after being confronted, Hosey said.
He was cooperating with authorities and will be charged with murder and handled as an adult, according to Hosey and Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith.
“He gave up, got on the ground and the deputy took him into custody,” Smith said.
Smith lamented the “pure evil” and “hateful event” that occurred at the school. All nine who were taken to hospitals were injured by gunfire in some capacity, he said.
A motive was unclear. Smith said he was not aware whether the victims were targeted or whether there was a connection between the shooter and the victims.
“I don’t know why it happened. I may not ever know. We may not ever know,” Smith said.
Earlier, he said it would take “multiple days” to determine what happened. “Every minute, it’s developing on what we’re finding,” he said.
Smith said authorities were working to reunite students with their parents.
The first call reporting an “active shooter” came in around 10:30 a.m., Smith said.
Hosey said law enforcement officers and two school resource officers responded to the scene within minutes of being alerted to the shooting.
