Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14 years old, along with Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie, math teachers, lost their lives in a brutal school shooting on Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.
An additional eight students and one teacher were injured and hospitalized after the shooting. They all are expected to survive.
“A mixture of fear and devastation,” said Kathryn Lowe, a junior marketing major. “I wanted to feel for those people, but I can not relate personally. As like, someone who will one day have kids in school and being someone who has went to public school, its terrifying.”
The shooter was Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student, who has now been charged with four counts of felony murder.
The shooting started around 10:15 a.m. Gray left his algebra class 30 minutes prior under the guise of needing to go to the office.
Law enforcement received the first distress call around 10:20 a.m. and arrived at the school shortly after with the school resource officers. A resource officer confronted Gray, and he surrendered.
Before the shooting, the school was notified by Gray’s mother, around 9 a.m., that she had received a message from her son and that the school should find him. The school officials searched for Gray but did not locate him in time to stop the attack.
In May 2023, Georgia sheriff had visited Gray’s home and spoke with both Colt Gray and his father, Colin Gray, in reference to anonymous threats of a school shooting. Gray denied knowing about the threats and law enforcement determined that there was no probable cause for arrest at the time.
“If the parents knew about the issues and they constantly had to move and the father knew as well, why would he buy his son a gun; why would he allow him to have access without his guidance?” said an anonymous GC faculty. “And why would you not let your school know ‘Hey, he has issues, he’s got problems can you help me?”
Colin Gray, 54, was arrested in connection with the shooting, as he knowingly allowed his son to possess the firearm used in the attack. He has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. He has recently asked for separation from other inmates due to fear of being harmed.
Charles Polhamus, Colt Gray’s maternal grandfather, has decided to break his silence.
“He needs the death penalty,” the grandfather said of Gray.
Colt Gray was given an AR-15 style rifle for Christmas by his father and used it in the shooting on Sep. 4.
“How did a kid get a gun in the school?” said an anonymous GC faculty. “Why aren’t there metal detectors already in the schools? The school’s not paying attention.”
Gray’s mother released an open apology to the people affected by the shooting. In the apology, she says that her son is not a monster.
“If I could take the place of Mason and Christian, I would without a second thought,” Marcee Gray wrote, referring to the two 14-year-olds who died in the attack. “As a parent, I’ve always said that the loss of one of my children would be the only thing that I wouldn’t be able to come back from. I feel all of your pain and devastation. I grieve and cry with you.”
Some feel as though both parents need to be arrested.
“If the father knew the son had issues and they already moved,” said an anonymous source. “She knew about the problems and she should have been arrested too.”
Apalachee High School is the 45th school shooting to take place this year. Georgia officials are looking into new policies – policies that will help students’ mental health, detect guns and encourage people to store guns properly. Lawmakers are also looking into creating a “red flag” law that allows the state to temporarily remove guns from individuals who are displaying concerning mental health issues.
