Apalachee High School shooting victims identified, student suspect was flagged to FBI last year

President Joe Biden speaks at the Vernon Electric Cooperative Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Westby, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

President Biden on Thursday said parents who give their children access to firearms that are not locked up should be held accountable, a day after a gunman killed four people at a Georgia high school.

Biden was in Westby, Wisconsin to tout his economic agenda when he remarked about the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School.

The 14-year-old alleged shooter killed two students and two teachers. He is charged with multiple counts of murder.

“Once again, what do we need them for in terms of domestic use?,” Biden said. “There are too many people who are able to access guns that should be able to. So let's require safe storage of firearms.”

“I know I have mine locked up, but how could you have an assault rifle, a weapon in a house not locked up, and knowing your kid knows where it is?” he added. “(We) Got a hold parents accountable if they let their child have access to these guns."

He then called for stronger background checks and ending immunity for gun makers. 

“As a nation, we cannot continue to accept the carnage of gun violence," he said. "I’m a gun owner. I believe strongly in the amendment. We need … more than thoughts and prayers.”

Image of David Phenix posted by daughter, Katie Phenix

One of the victims of the Georgia high school shooting is recovering following surgery Thursday morning, according to a update from his daughter.

"He was sent off to osteopathic surgery around 8AM today and we just met with the surgeon who worked on his hip + ankle— ALL GOOD NEWS,"atie Phenix, daughter of David Phenix, shared on Facebook.

"He will remain in the ICU for at least another day or two. There’s a pretty long recovery period, but things are lookin’ good," Katie wrote.

David was one of the nine wounded Wednesday morning when alleged shooter14-year-old Colt Gray opened fire inside Apalachee High School. Four people were killed in total including two teachers and two 14-year old students.

"Thank you for all the calls, texts, and messages. Our hearts hurt for our community. Please make sure to share the love with those affected by this crazy incident. Much love," Katie said.

Mason Schermerhorn last texted his mom from the restroom before he was discovered as one of the four killed in a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, a chaplain and youth minister who tried to help find the teen said.

Ronald Clark had stopped at a store on his way home Wednesday morning, when he learned of the shooting from his wife via phone call.

He rushed to the scene, and quickly offered his services to law enforcement at the command post. He was instructed to assist crews on the investigative side.

About an hour later, he said he started seeing the students, who were "hurt."

"You want to have the arms big enough to grab everybody, but it's only so much that you can do," he said, calling the situation "challenging."

He described the look on victims' faces as "shock," and said those who provided their testimonies to him in an attempt to cope were "strong."

About 30 minutes later, Clark said he began assisting Schermerhorn's mother, who is his coworker, with trying to find him.

"It was hard, because we were just talking about her kids on Tuesday this week," Clark said. "She was saying that the bond and the connection she has with her kids is unbreakable."

Read the full article about Mason Schermerhorn by Pilar Arias.

From left to right: Math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie were killed at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, along with Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, officials say.

Autopsies of the four victims killed during a rampage by a student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia will be performed Thursday, authorities said.

The victims who were shot and killed were identified Wednesday as: Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both aged 14 who attended the school; and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39; 53-year-old Christina Irimie.

The alleged shooter , Colt Gray, 14, has been charged with multiple counts of murder and will appear in court Friday morning. 

People attend a vigil at Jug Tavern Park following a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, U.S. September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

The community of Winder, Georgia will honor the victims of Wednesday's deadly shooting that killed two students and two teachers at a local high school on Friday.

The event, titled “A Light in the Dark,” will be held at 6 p.m. at Jug Tavern Park.

“This event will pay respect with a memorial service for those who lost their lives and for the families affected,” the city said in a Facebook post.

Grief counselors will be present for those who need support, the post states.

The city also held a vigil at the park hours after Wednesday's shooting.

Flowers sit against the Apalachee High school sign following a school shooting yesterday that left four dead and multiple more injured. Thursday, September 5, 2024 (Ben Hendren for Fox News Digital)

A gunman opened fire at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, on Wednesday morning and killed four people, including two students and two teachers.

Authorities were first notified of an active incident when Apalachee High School faculty and staff deployed Centegix CrisisAlert ID technology, equipped with an unobtrusive panic button, to alert officials by pressing down on the badge.

"All of our teachers are armed with a form of an ID called Centegix," Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters during a Wednesday evening press conference.

"Centegix alarms us and alerts the law enforcement office after buttons are pressed on an ID, and it alerts us that there is an active situation at the school for whatever reason."

Centegix, a cloud-based wearable safety technology company, enables rapid notification of emergency situations and response by local law enforcement.

The safety solutions company, "was founded on the idea that technology can create safer, more secure environments. Our safety solution uses market-defining technology that delivers the functionality, connectivity, and accessibility needed to stand up to real-world emergencies," according to the brand's website.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said during a press conference Wednesday night, "The protocols at this school and this system activated today prevented this from being a much larger tragedy than what we had here today."

Read the full article about Centegix from Gabriele Regalbuto.

Police gather outside Apalachee High School following the shooting on Wednesday, Sept. 4. (AP/Mike Stewart)

Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray has been charged with multiple counts of felony murder ahead of his first court appearance Friday, officials say.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says "the autopsies of the four victims" who were killed in the Apalachee High School shooting "will be performed today at the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office."

"The investigation into the shooting at Apalachee High School is still active and ongoing," it added. "This is day 2 of a very complex investigation and the integrity of the case is paramount. We ask for the public’s patience as we work to ensure a successful prosecution and justice for the victims."

Gray's court appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Apalachee High School's football stadium is pictured on Thursday, Sept. 5. (AP/Mike Stewart)

Monroe Area High School, which was set to face off against Apalachee High School in a football game this weekend, announced Thursday that the game has been canceled in the wake of the mass shooting. 

“Monroe Area High School stands with Apalachee High School and our thoughts are them with this time,” the school wrote on Facebook. 

“The football game versus Apalachee for this week has been canceled,” it added. 

The game was supposed to happen at Apalachee High School on Saturday, Sept. 6. 

One of the victims who died in Thursday’s shooting has been identified as Ricky Aspinwall, a 39-year-old husband and father of two young daughters. 

Aspinwall taught math at Apalachee High School and was the football team’s defensive coordinator. 

Al New speaks to Fox News Digital outside Apalachee High School on Thursday, Sept. 5. (Sarah Rumpf-Whitten/Fox News Digital)

Al New, a Billy Graham Crisis Counselors chaplain who arrived at Apalachee High School on Thursday, told Fox News Digital that he is there to pray with the students and families of those affected and to “give them hope. 

“Our main goal here as chaplains – and we are crisis management-trained chaplains -- is to come into the crowd of those who are hurting and grieving from what took place, especially here at this school, and we will come in, we will just stand beside them and lift them up, encourage them and pray with them to try to get through what they are going through” he said. 

“I’ve been doing this since 2005 and I’ve seen a lot of things, and when you walk up and you just ask ‘can I pray with you?’ immediately you can see the difference in their demeanor, and they want that prayer, because they don’t have anything else to stand on but that prayer. So that is what breaks our hearts, and that is why we are committed to doing what we do,” New added. 

Michelle Ramirez speaks outside Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Thursday, Sept. 5. (Sarah Rumpf-Whitten/Fox News Digital)

The mother of a student at Apalachee High School told reporters Thursday that “I cried” and “I was going 95 miles per hour to get here yesterday because I thought my daughter was injured” in the mass shooting. 

Michelle Ramirez, speaking near a memorial set up outside the high school in Winder, Georgia, said “Our hearts are aching for the families. It’s really sad.” 

“No one deserves to die like that. The school is meant for kids to come to learn and hang out with their friends, to not get killed,” she said. 

“We have to send our babies to school not knowing if it is going to be their last day. And it is scary, really scary,” Ramirez added. 

Cars are parked on the sides of a road as law enforcement officers work at the scene of a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. (Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage)

The FBI claims the bureau did not directly investigate the suspect behind the tragic Georgia high school mass shooting this week. 

The student shooter accused of opening fire at Apalachee High School on Wednesday was anonymously reported to the FBI in 2023 over online threats and "possibly threatened to shoot up a middle school" in a group chat on messaging app Discord.

Fox News Digital spoke with representatives of the FBI in Atlanta, who said the bureau had not interview the suspect and had not gone to his home. Instead, the FBI provided the information from the anonymous tip to the Jackson County Sheriff. 

Local law enforcement officers with the sheriff's department conducted a deeper investigation and interviewed the father of the suspect, documented in a report that could not substantiate the threats.

During the investigation, the suspect "expressed concern that someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner," according to a report from the interviews.

The officer investigating the anonymous tips found that the information sent to the FBI was communicated via various IP addresses across the world: Palmdale, California; Los Angeles, California; and Cockburn, Australia. He also reviewed the email address and phone number related to the case — as well as the user profile linked to the threats. 

The profile name, written in Russian, referenced the perpetrator of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. 

"[The Apalachee suspect] stated he stopped using Discord because too many people kept hacking his account, and he was afraid someone would use his information for nefarious purposes," according to the report.

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old accused of killing four people and injuring nine others during the shooting at Apalachee High School, will make his first court appearance Friday, according to media reports.

The appearance will happen at 8:30 a.m. local time, Fox5 Atlanta reports.

Gray, who is currently being held at the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, will be appearing virtually in Barrow County Superior Court, a Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice spokesperson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Officials previously have said Gray will face murder charges.

Videos taken inside Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, following Wednesday's mass shooting show a sense of calm amid the chaos.

Sophomore Alexsandra Romero, 15, was sheltering with classmates inside a classroom when she caught footage of law enforcement officers entering the room and directing them down a corridor to exit. 

"Single file line down this aisle right here after this deputy," an officer is heard saying. "Hurry up now, come on, let's go. We got a whole school to get evacuated, people, come on now."

Romero told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she thought what was happening was a drill.

"I can just remember my hands were shaking," Romero said. "I felt bad because everybody was crying, everybody was trying to find their siblings."

Another video captured by the teen on her way out of the school shows a body covered by a sheet with blood surrounding it and firearms on the floor. 

Students kneel in front of a makeshift memorial in front of Apalachee High School on Thursday, Sept. 5, in Winder, Ga. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Apalachee High School student Isaac Sanguma has said in an interview that Christina Irimie, the math teacher killed in the shooting Wednesday, was a “real nice” person who would “really make you feel welcome.” 

Sanguma, speaking to CBS News, said on the morning of the shooting, Irimie, his fourth period teacher, “walked up to me and I had threw up yesterday, so she asked me if I was OK.” 

“I didn’t know that was going to be my last time seeing her and talking to her,” he said. 

Sanguma described Irimie as being “real nice” to students and as a teacher would often “tell random jokes.” 

“You could get a question wrong on the board and she would not make you feel dumb, she would really make you feel welcome,” Sanguma said. 

The student said he was going to use the bathroom around the time the shooting started unfolding. 

“I think I heard a ‘boom, boom,’ but at first it didn’t come to my mind that it was a gunshot, my instinct was to run back to class,” he told CBS News. “It didn’t feel real.”

A video taken from inside Apalachee High School on Wednesday shows a gun lying on the floor.

The weapon could be seen as students were moving through a hallway to evacuate the school.

Four people were killed and nine others were injured in the shooting on Wednesday in Winder, Georgia.

Other footage that has emerged in the wake of the shooting shows police officers evacuating students from inside of a classroom, with one instructing them to walk in a single-file line.

A law enforcement officer works near the scene of a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Sept. 4, 2024. (Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage)

A law enforcement expert weighed in following the tragic mass shooting at a small Georgia high school that left two students and two teachers dead and wounded nine others on Wednesday.

Matthew Fagiana, a retired police sergeant and law enforcement consultant, told Fox News Digital that responding officials are zeroing in on the 14-year-old suspect's past and motive at the start of the investigation.

"Things such as the timeline of the incident. A chronological history of the suspect leading up to the shooting, a deep look into the suspect's past for things such as interactions with the victims, the existence of any indications of violent behavior, statements or social media posts that could help them develop a motive, and recent internet history," he said. 

"And that, of course, only scratches the surface of the investigation," he added.

Fagiana noted that responding agencies, including the FBI's Atlanta field office and Jackson County Sheriff's Office, are combing the scene of Apalachee High School to construct an "accurate picture" of the suspect's pathway through the school.

Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum tells Fox News Digital that “approximately 8” of her personnel responded Wednesday to the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia. 

The Sheriff’s Office previously posted a statement from the FBI’s Atlanta Division saying the suspected shooter has been on its radar as a possible threat since last year after receiving information about “online threats” that contained images of guns. 

“The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father. The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them,” the statement read. “The subject denied making the threats online. Jackson County alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject.” 

Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

A video has captured the moment law enforcement evacuated students from Apalachee High School in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly shooting.  

“Single file line down this aisle right here, after this deputy. Hurry up now, come on let’s go... we got a whole school to get evacuated people, come on now,” a voice is heard instructing the students.  

The person filming the video then walks past an armed officer standing at the entrance of a classroom.   

In the hallway of the building, students can be seen walking in a line. 

A spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation tells Fox News Digital that the parents of suspected Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray "have been cooperative up until this point."

The comment came in response to a question regarding whether authorities are investigating Gray's parents in the wake of Wednesday's attack, which left four dead and nine others injured.

Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

Richard "Ricky" Aspinwall, 39, is survived by his wife and their two young daughters.

A beloved football coach, who was among four victims killed in a high school shooting in Barrow County, Georgia, on Wednesday morning, was remembered as a "leader of men" who passed on the "old-school ways" of the game to the children he coached.

Ricky Aspinwall, a 39-year-old husband and father of two young daughters, taught math at Apalachee High School, where he was also the football team’s defensive coordinator. 

Mike Hancock, the school’s head football coach, told the Athens Banner-Herald that Aspinwall was "a great dad" who loved his wife and their two daughters and was also respected in the game of football.

"He worked his tail off," Hancock said. "He coached old-school ways, but he loved those kids. It's heartbreaking really for our kids, but for his wife and his two daughters…"

Aspinwall was killed when the alleged 14-year-old shooter opened fire inside the school. Math teacher Christina Irimie and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, were also killed. Authorities said nine others were wounded in the shooting.

Students walk off campus with their families after a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

The mother of a student at Apalachee High School told The New York Times that she received a text from her daughter Wednesday that read “Mom, I heard gunshots. I’m scared. Please come get me.” 

However, Anetra Pattman, who teaches social sciences at an alternative school in Barrow County, had to remain calm and stay with her own class, the newspaper adds. 

“At that moment, the primary thing was continuing this communication with my daughter, but now I’m also responsible for keeping my other children safe,” Pattman said. 

The teacher told the newspaper that her school went into a lockdown before she was reunited with her 14-year-old daughter Macey later that afternoon. 

Georgia State patrol vehicles are seen moving toward Apalachee High School on Wednesday following the shooting. (AP/Mike Stewart)

The student shooter accused of opening fire at Apalachee High School has been booked into the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, according to WSB-TV. 

Colt Gray, 14, is accused of killing four people and injuring nine others during the attack.

The Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center is located about an hour north of Apalachee High School in Winder. 

Gray, who is a student at Apalachee High School, will be charged with murder and prosecuted as an adult, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith says. 

Fox News' Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

A towing company in Georgia is offering free services to students and faculty at Apalachee High School following the shooting there Wednesday. 

The owner of All County Towing and Recovery told Fox5 Atlanta that they don’t want those affected by the shooting to have to return to the school so soon, so they are offering free tows of vehicles left in the school’s parking lots. 

At least five vehicles have been towed away from the property overnight, the owner added, noting that he used to go to the school and that shooting victim Richard Aspinwall was his football coach.

Former FBI agent Rob D'Amico told "Fox & Friends First" on Thursday that the FBI and local law enforcement will “have to go back” and review the way it handled past interactions with Colt Gray, the suspected gunman who opened fire Wednesday at Apalachee High School. 

The comment comes after the FBI confirmed that Gray has been on its radar as a possible threat since last year. In a joint statement, the FBI's Atlanta field office and Jackson County Sheriff's Office said the agency's National Threat Operations Center received an anonymous tip about threats posted online regarding a possible school shooting in May 2023. 

“There’s only so much you can do when you get those warnings,” D'Amico said. “The local officers went out and interviewed the father, interviewed the son – he denied making those online threats. The father said that the son did not have unfettered access to the weapons. They did what they could and then they left because there was no probable cause to take other action. 

“And that actually happens a lot around the country all the time and they don’t result in school shootings later on, but this one actually did and they will have to go back and make sure everything was done properly,” D'Amico added. 

Fox News' Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

Students and parents walk off campus at Apalachee High School on Wednesday following the shooting. (AP/Mike Stewart)

The FBI has confirmed that the alleged shooter who killed two students and two teachers and wounded nine others at a Georgia high school Wednesday has been on its radar as a possible threat since last year. 

In a joint statement, the FBI's Atlanta field office and Jackson County Sheriff's Office said the agency's National Threat Operations Center received an anonymous tip about threats posted online regarding a possible school shooting in May 2023.

The agencies said that the threats contained images of guns. 

Within 24 hours of receiving the anonymous tip, investigators determined the threats originated in Georgia and the matter was referred to the sheriff’s office.

"The Jackson County Sheriffs’ Office located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father," the FBI said. "The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them."

On Wednesday, authorities identified Colt Gray, now 14, as the shooter who killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School. Gray surrendered to authorities and was taken into custody following the rampage. 

A medical helicopter is seen in front of Apalachee High School after a shooting at the school Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP/Mike Stewart)

Authorities have identified the four victims who were killed in the shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday morning when a student opened fire inside the school. 

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director (GBI) Chris Hosey said two 14-year-old students and two teachers were killed during the shooting. 

Hosey identified two students killed at Apalachee High School as Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Hosey said math teachers Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irmie were also killed during the shooting. 

One of the faculty victims, Aspinwall, was also a football coach at the school. 

"Coach Aspinwell was one of the most kindhearted teachers I have ever met. He always made it known that if I needed help with anything he was there," a student wrote in a tribute on Instagram.