‘He shot at least 10 times’: Students recall moments of terror in Georgia school shooting

A school shooting claimed the lives of four people and left nine others injured at Apalachee High School in Winder, U.S. Georgialate on Wednesday evening.
The suspect, identified as a 14-year-old student Colt Gray has been arrested and is currently in custody.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the victims were two students and two teachers, although their identities have not been released at this time. The motive behind the attack remains unclear, and officials have not confirmed any specific targets. The GBI stated, “Another nine were taken to various hospitals with injuries. The suspect is in custody and alive. Reports that the suspect has been ‘neutralized’ are false.”
The shooting is the latest tragic incident in America’s ongoing gun violence crisis, which has seen nearly 400 mass shootings reported this year.

Eyewitness tells of horrific shooting
Students who witnessed the attack shared harrowing accounts of the events that unfolded. Lyela Sayarath, a classmate of the alleged attacker, told CNN that the suspect left their algebra class early and returned with a gun, which another student noticed and refused to let him in. The attacker then allegedly went into a neighboring classroom and began shooting.
Alexsandra Romero, a sophomore, described the panic and fear that ensued when someone stormed into her classroom and warned students to take cover. “I remember my hands were shaking,” Romero told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I felt bad because everyone was crying, everyone was trying to find their siblings. I can still picture everything, the blood, the screams.”
Julie Sandoval, another student, said she hid in a corner with classmates until police arrived, praying and trying to stay calm as she tried to text her friends and parents. Marques Coleman, a 14 years old One student described seeing the attacker holding a “large gun” before the shooting began, and the chaos that ensued when his teacher tried to barricade the door with desks.
How the shooting unfolded
Authorities first received reports of the shooting at the high school, which serves about 1,900 students, around 10:20 a.m. local time. County Sheriff Jud Smith described the attack as “pure evil.” “Within minutes, police were on the scene, as were two school resource officers assigned to the school, who immediately encountered the victim,” the sheriff said at a news conference.
The police responded quickly and two school officers were already on the scene. campus immediately confronted the suspect. Sheriff Smith said the suspect “gave up, got down on the ground” and was arrested without further incident.
The suspect, Colt Gray, was on the FBI’s radar as early as May 2023, after anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting. FBI agents interviewed Gray and his father at the time, but no further action was taken because there was no probable cause for an arrest.
According to the FBI, Gray’s father admitted to having shotguns in his home but said his son did not have unsupervised access to them. Gray, who was 13 at the time of the FBI interview, denied making the online threats, and the agency warned local schools to monitor him.
Among the victims was 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn, who had autism, according to local reports. The Georgia school shooting is one of a growing list of mass shootings in the United States, with nearly 400 such incidents reported this year alone.
Leaders condemn shooting incident
President Joe Biden expressed his sadness and frustration over the tragedy, saying, “Jill and I mourn the deaths of those whose lives were cut short by more senseless gun violence and think of all the survivors whose lives were changed forever,” Biden said in a statement. He called for bipartisan action and urged Republicans to work with Democrats on “commonsense gun safety legislation.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, also the Democratic presidential nominee, described the incident as a “senseless tragedy.” At a campaign rally in New Hampshire, she said, “We have to stop this. We have to end this epidemic of gun violence.”
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, responded to the tragedy on social media. “Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, GA,” he wrote. “These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the focus should be on the investigation, not politics. “Today is not a day for politics or policy. Today is a day for an investigation, to mourn these precious Georgians that we’ve lost,” he said.