Caller Warned Apalachee High Was Just the First
A fourteen-year-old has been identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) as the perpetrator in the school shooting that took the lives of four people today in Winder, GA. Colt Gray is reported to be a student at the school where he shot and killed two teachers and two students before being taken into custody.
In a post on Twitter (X), the GBI stated that Gray had been arrested and would be tried as an adult for multiple counts of murder, etc. It is unclear at this time why he decided to perform such a tragic act that left 4 people dead and 9 in the hospital.
Reports say that the first calls of an active shooter came in at 10:20 am, ET. However, law enforcement shared that a call to the school this morning at 9:30 warned of the shooting. The caller stated that Apalachee High School would be the first, and that there would be five school shootings in total.
The call is being investigated, but it is unclear whether law enforcement in Barrow County or other Georgia agencies had been notified in the 50 minutes between that call and the moment that the shooting began. It is also unclear whether or not more shootings are expected.
For Georgia parents, it is extremely unsettling to ponder what the caller meant, who the caller was, and whether more school shootings could be coming. Georgia passed a law in 2014 that allows teachers to carry guns in an effort to dissuade school shootings in the state. It is not mandatory.
Georgia’s Lieutenant Government Burt Jones introduced a proposal at a press conference in October of 2023 to protect Georgia’s children at school. His idea would pay the state’s teachers $10,000 annually to pass a firearms safety training course and carry a weapon to school to protect children in such an event.
His speech on the subject took place in the same town as today’s shooting, at Austin Road Elementary School in Winder, GA.
However, the former superintendent of the Apalachee High School was reported to have opposed this idea. Chris McMichael stated at the time that although the district allows carrying by the security chief, arming other employees would “have to be carefully examined.”
The president of the Georgia Association of Educators. Lisa Morgan, was also against the plan, saying that her group was opposed to anyone other that certified officers carrying guns in the schools of Georgia.
“Teachers should not be armed in the classroom,” she stated. Instead, Morgan suggested hiring more counselors. The Sheriff was more in favor of the idea at that time, calling it a “force multiplier” to arm teachers in the event of a school shooting.
Many Georgia parents have expressed their own opinion on the subject. They state that they would “feel safer knowing that their child’s teacher wouldn’t end up hiding behind a desk with no way to protect the children” when these types of tragedies occur. While some call for stricter gun laws, it is important to point out that it is already illegal in Georgia for 14-year-olds to carry guns to school.
Regardless of opinions, it seems a better safety plan is needed for Georgia schools, and the schools of other states, with the threat of four more shootings looming.
(photo credit: World Source News)
(video credit: X)
