The Paw Print

By Isabella Sun, Associate News & Features Editor

On Sept. 4 in Winder, Georgia, 14-year-old student Colt Gray opened fire on Apalachee High School. He killed four and injured nine, carrying out the most deadly school shooting of 2024. The two students and two teachers that lost their lives were Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53. Colt Gray was arrested and was prosecuted as an adult.

In May 2023, law enforcement spoke with Gray and his father after Gray threatened to commit a school shooting on popular social platform Discord, but when authority questioned him, he jokingly said “he would never say such a thing.” There was not enough evidence and inconsistent information, so no action was taken.

Before the shooting, Gray sent an alarming message to his mother, prompting her to warn the school that something could go wrong. She then called the school, asking for school officials to “immediately find [my son] and check on him” and that there was an “extreme emergency.” She finished the call 30 minutes before the shooting. 

At the same time, a school administrator went to Gray’s math class according to another student, Lyela Sayarath. She said that there had been some confusion with a similarly named student. Moments after the administrator left, the shooting began.

Gray had skipped his math class unnoticed, as his fellow classmates said that he was “always quiet.” Gray came back, knocking on the door, and as one of his classmates was about to open the door, he pulled out a gun. The shooter then turned his back and the rapid fire of bullets ensued, “10 or 15 of them at once, back-to-back,” Sayarath said.

Gray has been charged with four counts of murder and he will be tried as an adult and is also expected to face additional charges with connection to the wounded. It is not known how Colt Gray got to school or how he brought in the gun.  The school did not have metal detectors, however.

As for his motivations, that also remains unknown. However, Colt had writings on past shootings, as officials found documents that they believe he wrote referencing past school shootings, including references to the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. They also know that things worsened for Colt as his mom and dad divorced, taking his two younger siblings away. After that, he started getting picked at school.

Gray’s father, Colin Gray, was the one who supplied the gun as a holiday present in December 2023. He told investigators that Colt had access to unloaded guns and knew when to use them or not. He has been charged for four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.

Colt Gray’s maximum penalty is life in prison with or without parole. In 2005, a US Supreme court case declared that no one younger than the age of 18 could be sentenced to death for any crime. The grand jury will be organized on Oct. 17 and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 4.

The Apalachee High School community has gathered together to pay their respects for the victims, setting up vigils and makeshift memorials. Students and family members have lit up candles and set balloons and flowers in honor of the victims.

Although it is undeniable that America’s gun violence statistics have been dropping ever since a devastating record set in 2021, violence has still racked this country since the start of the pandemic. In fact, around 90% of school shootings in the world occur in the US alone.

There are many factors that contribute to the high rates of violence including social media, access to guns, and inadequate security in schools. The Apalachee High School shooting is a sign of America’s severe gun violence issues as their community continues to mourn their tragic loss.