Nine people were also injured. The suspect, a 14-year-old student, was arrested by police.
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Another American high school in mourning. A 14-year-old student has been identified as the perpetrator of the shootings that left four dead and nine injured, in his high school in Georgia, in the south-east of the United States, on Wednesday, September 4. The teenager was arrested, according to the local police.The suspect’s motives remain unknown for the time being. Franceinfo summarizes what we know about this tragic event.
The shooter opened fire during class
Law enforcement responded to Apalachee High School in the town of Winder, about 45 miles from Atlanta, after emergency calls came in early this morning. School officials sent a message to parents announcing a “strict lockdown after gunshots”. “School shooting right now, I’m scared, I’m not kidding… I love you”also wrote a student to his mother, in a text message relayed by the CNN channel.
Sergio Caldera, 17, was in chemistry class when he heard gunshots. “My teacher opened the door [de la classe] to see what was happening. Another teacher then came running and told him to close the door.”the high school student told ABC News. With the door locked, he and his classmates then “huddled” at the back of the room, from where they heard screams “which seemed to come from the neighboring classroom”. Shortly after, he heard pounding on the door and shouting. “open, open”. The student is convinced that “The shooter tried to enter.”
Some students initially thought it was a drill, one of them told AFP. “My teacher put us all in a little corner and everyone hugged each other, some of my friends were crying. Until two armed police officers came in and told us it wasn’t a drill and we weren’t safe yet.”Alexsandra Romeo told the news agency. Another student, Stephanie Folgar, 17, said she heard “loud detonations” and panicked students hiding in toilets and closets. “It’s scary to know that it could have been you”she said.
Two students and two teachers were killed
Four people were killed: two 14-year-old students and two mathematics teachers, according to several American media outlets, including CNN and NBC. Nine people were also affected, eight students and a teacher, who are suffering from “different injuries”according to Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia FBI.
Some of the injured were treated at the scene by emergency workers, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. After the shooting, students were evacuated from the school or gathered on a football field, according to aerial footage released by media outlets.
The suspect was known to the FBI
The suspect is a 14-year-old student at the school. The shooter used an “AR-style” automatic rifle and authorities are investigating how he got the weapon into the school, Georgia FBI Director Chris Hosey said. The teen was arrested by a police officer assigned to the school’s security detail, Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters. “The shooter quickly realized that if he did not surrender”the officer was going to open fire, he explained. “He gave up, got on the ground and the officer arrested him.” He was taken into custody and will be tried as an adult for murder, the FBI said. While he has already spoken to investigators, “we have no knowledge of any target” specific target the teenager allegedly targeted, Smith said. His motives are therefore, for now, unknown.
The suspect was first reported in 2023 for threatening to shoot up a school, with photographs of weapons to back it up, the FBI said. The teenager and his father were interviewed by authorities in a neighboring county. His father confirmed that he owned hunting weapons but said his son did not have unsupervised access to them. The suspect denied making the threats. However, the FBI notified schools in the area so that the high school student could be “monitored”. “At that time, there were no reasonable grounds for arrest or further action by law enforcement.”the FBI said in a statement.
Separately, according to CNN information obtained from law enforcement officials, Apalachee High School received a threatening phone call Wednesday morning warning of shootings at five schools, including Apalachee High School.
Kamala Harris and Joe Biden reacted to this tragedy
“We cannot accept that this becomes the norm”wrote US President Joe Biden, who has been trying for years to further regulate access to firearms. “We must end this epidemic of gun violence in our country, once and for all.”demanded Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democratic presidential candidate added at a rally that there was no “no reason to go through this”.
For his part, Republican candidate Donald Trump pointed out the actions of the shooter, described as “sick and deranged monster”.
Georgia, where the shootings took place, is one of the key states that could swing the presidential election one way or the other. Its governor announced on the social network X to have “led all available forces of the state to respond to the incident.” Republican Brian Kemp exhorts Thus “all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of students in our schools”.
The shooting is at least the 45th school shooting in the United States in 2024 and the deadliest this year, according to CNN’s tally.