Death Toll Climbing After Apalachee Shooting
A suspect is in custody after a taking pictures inside Apalachee High School in Georgia. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, a minimum of 4 individuals have died, and about 9 sustained accidents because of the September 4 incident.
In an announcement, Barrow County Sheriff’s Office confirmed {that a} suspect was arrested however gave no further particulars in regards to the particular person’s id. However, CNN has cited a supply who claims the detainee is “of student age.” At this time, additional details about the alleged scholar suspect and their ties to the Georgia highschool stay unclear.
Additionally, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith declined to provide particulars about these injured within the taking pictures. “What you see behind us is an evil thing,” Sheriff Smith mentioned throughout a press convention outdoors the varsity on Wednesday.
Here’s What Happened At Apalachee High School
Georgia’s Apalachee High School is situated in Barrow County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. According to information from Georgia schooling officers, the varsity has about 1,900 college students. It turned Barrow County’s second-largest public highschool when it opened in 2000 and is known as after the Apalachee River within the county.
It’s solely been slightly over a month for the reason that excessive schoolers returned from summer time break. Shortly earlier than 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, officers from a number of regulation enforcement businesses and Fire/EMS personnel obtained dispatch orders for Apalachee.
According to the Associated Press, college students sought shelter in the highschool’s soccer stadium as native officers swarmed the campus.
How Officials Have Responded To The Georgia School Shooting
Helicopter video from WSB-TV confirmed dozens of regulation enforcement and emergency automobiles surrounding the impacted Georgia highschool. According to AP, site visitors going to the varsity was backed up for greater than a mile as mother and father tried to get to their kids.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has already addressed the varsity taking pictures in an announcement.
“I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state,” Gov. Kemp mentioned. “We will continue to work with local, state, and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation.”
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) September 4, 2024
Meanwhile, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has known as for extra patrols of Atlanta faculties “for the rest of the day.” Dickens mentioned the decision is “out of an abundance of caution.”
The FBI’s Atlanta workplace has additionally responded to the taking pictures. Their assertion mentioned, “FBI Atlanta is aware of the current situation at Apalachee High School in Barrow County. Our agents are on scene coordinating with and supporting local law enforcement.”
AP provides that President Biden’s Homeland Security Advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall, has suggested him on the Georgia highschool incident. In an announcement cited by CNN, Biden spoke about college shootings not turning into a norm.
“What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart. Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal,” the president mentioned.
The episode is simply the most recent amongst dozens of college shootings throughout the U.S. lately, together with particularly lethal ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas. The killings in lecture rooms have set off fervent debates about gun management and frayed the nerves of fogeys whose kids are rising up accustomed to energetic shooter drills in lecture rooms. But they’ve executed little to maneuver the needle on nationwide gun legal guidelines.
This is a breaking story. Stay tuned for stay updates.
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Associated Press workers Jeff Amy contributed to this report.
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