The first victim of the Apalachee High School shooting has been identified: 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn.
The victim’s family said Channel 12 News that Schermerhorn, who was autistic, was one of four people killed when a gunman — identified as Colt Gray, 14 — opened fire Wednesday morning.
Gray, 14, injured at least nine others in the horrific shooting in Winder, Georgia. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Gray immediately surrendered when confronted by police, “giving up and getting on the ground.”
Special education teacher David Phenix was the first to be photographed. Phenix was shot in the hip and foot, but survived the tragedy.
Mason Schermerhorn, 14, an autistic student at Apalachee High School, was the first victim to be identified. He was one of four people killed in the mass shooting
A large police presence raided Apaleechee High School in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday after officials reported a 14-year-old student opened fire, wounding nine people and killing four.
Horrifying details have emerged from inside classrooms showing the chilling chaos students endured as gunfire rang out this morning
Authorities have not yet released identification of the other three people who were shot. There is no indication that they were specifically targeted, but the investigation is ongoing.
It is unclear how the 14-year-old gunman obtained the weapon used in the attack. Authorities have not yet disclosed what type of firearm was used.
After his arrest, Gray will be charged with murder and tried as an adult, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
According to police, Gray opened fire at about 10:23 a.m., killing at least 13 people. Panic ensued at the school.
Footage showed students streaming onto campus as terrified parents rushed to find their children. One mother described the scene outside the school as sheer “chaos.”
Concerned parents gathered at school on Wednesday
Horrifying details have emerged from inside classrooms showing the chilling chaos students endured as gunfire rang out this morning
Lyela Sayerath, a third-grader, said she sat next to Colt Gray in math class minutes before he began the shooting.
She told CNN that Colt left the classroom at the start of class at 9:45 a.m., about a half hour before the active shooter alert sounded.
Gray hadn’t picked up a bathroom pass, she said, so she initially thought he’d simply skipped class. But then a loudspeaker went off, telling teachers to check their email.
Sayerath said Gray came back outside the classroom shortly afterward and a student stood up to open the door for him, but when he saw his gun, he jumped back.
“I think he saw that we weren’t going to let him in. And I think the classroom next to me, their door, was open, so I think he just started shooting into the classroom,” she said.
Sayerath said Gray fired several rounds “one after the other.” He added: “When we heard it, most of the people dropped to the ground and were crawling down, like piled on top of each other.”
A third-grader at the school, Lyela Sayerath, said she sat next to Colt Gray in math class minutes before he began the shooting.
A mother described the scenes outside the high school as ‘chaos’
Sayerath said her boyfriend was in the classroom next door and saw someone get shot, which left him “shaken.” “He saw someone get shot. He had blood on him. He was limping a little bit. He looked shaken,” she added.
As more information emerges about the school shooting, officially the deadliest in Georgia history, students and parents are expressing their shock at the horrors that unfolded.
One mother, Erin Clark, shared the text messages she had with her son Ethan from the moment he learned there was an active shooter at his school.
He wrote: ‘School shooting rn (right now). I’m scared. I’m not joking.’
His mother responded immediately, assuring him she was leaving work. In a heartbreaking response, Ethan wrote, “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. Where are you?” Clark said. Ethan told her he was in class and added, “Someone’s dead.”
Many students filmed the aftermath, with one shocked grandfather saying his granddaughters were “led out past blood and victims” after the shooting.
“They heard the shots, a SWAT team came in with guns drawn, looking for the shooters in their room,” James Shappard said. “No child should have to go through that.”
Heartbreaking messages between an Apalachee High School student and his mother have revealed the moment children learned there was an active shooter
The first victim of the shooting, special education teacher David Phenix, has been photographed. Phenix was shot in the hip and foot, but survived the tragedy
Sergio Caldera, 17, said he was in his final year of chemistry when he heard gunshots. He told ABC: “My teacher is going to open the door to see what’s going on.
“Another teacher runs in and tells her to close the door because there is an active shooter.”
Caldera said his class heard terrifying screams from outside as they “crowded together.”
Another 15-year-old child told Atlanta News First that his teacher immediately locked the door and his classmates formed a lockdown position when gunfire broke out Wednesday morning.
He said he was worried about his friends and classmates because the gunshots rang out close to where he was crouched.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Gray immediately surrendered when confronted by police, and “gave up and got on the ground.”
Terrified students said they heard screams from the hallway
Melanie, a student at Apalachee High School, said a “code red” message went off in her classroom and a red flashing light came on.
During exercises, the lights never came on, making her realize the ordeal was real and serious, she told local reporters.
Her classmates immediately ducked into a corner of the room, following orders from their teacher, who turned off the classroom lights.
Melanie said that many of her friends didn’t have cell phone reception, but she did, so she texted her own family first before her classmates texted their parents on her phone.
And 14-year-old Camille Nelms told WXIA the shooter entered her classroom.
“I cried. I didn’t want to die like that,” she said.
