GA High School Shooting and What you Need to Know
By Elizabeth Smith, Web Editor
On September 4 at 10:23 am, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office received alerts from local Apalachee High School in Winder, GA about an on-site active shooter. The 14-year-old shooter, Colt Gray, opened fire at the school Wednesday morning, taking the lives of four individuals, two students and two teachers. Nine were injured. Gray is being tried as an adult for 4 counts of felony murder and will face further charges for the 9 wounded.
Colin Gray, 54, the suspect’s father, is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and is accused of supplying his son with the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting. Gray lives with his father and for Christmas last year, the suspect’s father allegedly gifted him the gun. Although it is illegal in the state of Georgia to buy a firearm under the age of 18, there is no law against operating provided it’s not a handgun.
Although the Barrow County Sheriff’s office acted within minutes of the alert and managed to arrest the shooter upon arrival, the crisis could have been averted.
Wednesday morning, Gray’s mother, Marcee Gray, received the following text from her son: “I’m sorry, mom.” Marcee contacted the school immediately to check on her son, at which point a school counselor emailed her that Colt was making references to school shootings. That day, the school also received an anonymous tip that Apalachee High School would be the first of five school shootings to occur in the area. Last year, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) questioned Colt and his father after receiving anonymous online tips about plans to commit a school shooting.
Many are frustrated by the time it took officials to act when information on the shooter came out a year ago. Julia Brochu, a USM student says, “What it comes down to is that this kid was sick. They knew about it last year: I don’t know why something wasn’t done about it then.”
While state and federal legislators are calling for 2nd Amendment reforms and an increase in gun control policies throughout the nation, many believe this may not be the only solution.
According to some USM students, mental and behavioral health plays a significant role. “I think it’s about getting help earlier,” says USM student Mackenna Durkey. “It’s about improving our mental health systems so that people don’t end up in a situation where the only thing they have to turn to is violence.”
Students claim that treating root causes early on could help solve the gun violence epidemic in our nation.