On September 4, 2024, the small community of Winder, Georgia, was shaken by a tragic shooting. Colt Gray of Apalachee High School selfishly claimed the lives of two students, two teachers and left nine others severely injured, including one teacher and eight students. Prosecutors said this shooting is at least the 45th school shooting in 2024 and the deadliest since the Nashville rampage at the Covenant School in March of 2023. At Hidden Valley High School, SRO, Andrea Morris, cares immensely about the safety of all students.
“I have dedicated my life to the safety of all the County citizens for over 26 years. I want all the students at our school to know they are cared for no matter the circumstances of life. I want all our students to feel safe coming to school, to know we as staff and police are looking out for their safety. I don’t want a tragedy to occur here.”
On the morning of September 4, 2024, 14-year-old Colt Gray routinely rode the bus to school. Except Colt woke up with evil intentions that day. Concealed is his backpack, was a knife and an AR-15-style riffle. The student arrived at the school and entered his first class with no suspicions, noted the school does not have metal detectors.
The Apalachee High tragedy officially commenced at approximately 9:45 a.m. when the 14-year-old student, Colt Gray, left his Algebra 1 class. He had asked his teacher to speak to someone in the office and she permitted him to as well as to take his belongings with him. After leaving his class, Colt sent an alarming text to his mother that reads “I’m sorry, mom”. According to authorities, a phone call was also placed to the school that morning with warnings of shootings at five schools, Apalachee High School being first.
At around 9:50 a.m. the mother of Colt Gray places a 10-minute phone call alerting the school of his vague message. She asks for authorities to check on him. When a school recourse officer was sent to search for him, he was already missing from class.
After avoiding teachers and authorities in the bathroom he exits looking for “soft targets”. He returned nearing the end of his Algebra class. When he knocked to get back in, the student sent to open the door immediately noticed the weapon, an AR-15-style rifle, and refused to open the door. He then went to the classroom next door and opened fire.
The sheriff’s department received the first reports of the shooting around 10:20 a.m. when someone pressed a wearable panic button issued just a week earlier to teachers. Law enforcement and two recourse officers assigned to Apalachee High arrived at the scene shortly after. By 10:30 a.m. the suspect, Colt Gray, had surrendered to the deputy when confronted by a resource officer. He was then immediately taken into custody. Fifteen minutes later it was reported one dead in the main hallway and three others dead in another hallway. Deceased victims of the massacre have been identified as Mason Schermerhorn, 14; Christian Angulo, 14; Richard Aspinwall, 39; Cristina Irimie, 53.
Mason Schermerhorn had just entered his first year of high school when he was fatally shot in the hallway of Apalachee High School. Mason was described by family members as “someone who always looked at the bright side of things.” Mason leaves behind his brother and two sisters. Mason’s funeral was held at the Jefferson Civic Center where hundreds of people wore Mason’s favorite color, red. Almost every person in attendance was in tears. Family members and loved ones all shared letters, memories and final thoughts, attempting to get closure they’ll never truly receive.
Like Mason Schermerhorn, Christian Angulo was a freshman at Apalachee. “He was a very good kid and very sweet and so caring. He was loved by so many.” A quote from Christian’s older sister in account of setting up a GoFundMe page to cover the cost her younger brother’s funeral. His service was held on September 20th. Mason was a young light to everyone in his life who was taken away too soon.
Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall was a beloved football coach, serving as the defensive coordinator, and a math teacher. Richard was also a married father to two young girls, two and five years, who he is now carried on by. On the morning of the attack Aspinwall heard a commotion outside his classroom. Curiously, he stepped outside his classroom to see what was going on. When he did, he was fatally shot in the chest. His students attempted to save him by pulling his body back into the classroom and use their own shirts to try to stop the bleeding and save him. Unfortunately, the wound was too severe, and they could not. By the time the emergency services arrived at the scene, it was too late.
Cristina Irimie was also a math teacher at Apalachee. She was a Romanian immigrant with a passion to teach. As well as teaching academically, she taught young children traditional Romanian folklore dance. Irimie struggled with fertility issues throughout her adulthood. Her response was always the same. “It’s OK because the students are my kids.” The night before her passing Irimie stayed up baking a cake to celebrate her birthday with her students. Her birthday originally fell on August 24th but she was unable to celebrate because she was caring for her mother who had just undergone surgery. They were going to celebrate with cake and pizza, that is before their celebration was cut short by an array of bullets. Irimie sacrificed herself in order to protect her students, in her eyes her own children. Irimie died a hero and will be remembered as a second mother to many of her students.
Colt Gray now faces a possible life in prison sentence. He is being tried as an adult with four counts of felony murder. Along with Colt, Colt’s father is also being charged. Colt’s father, Colin Gray, bought him the rifle as a Christmas present. Colin is being tried with involuntary manslaughter and murder for allegedly providing the weapon. Colin faces up to 180 years in prison if convicted of the following charges: involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
Colt Gray was also questioned by law enforcement last year regarding “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time,” according to FBI Atlanta and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. During that time, there was no probable cause to arrest Gray. There have also been thoughts of mental illness being the cause, but nothing was ever confirmed. Hidden Valley High Student Scarlett Ferguson recounts her years attending school in Florida:
“I lived in Florida for most of my life. The gun laws were much more relaxed and there was a much larger stigma around mental illness/health, so less people wanted to/could actually get help for their issues, and that meant that there was a higher risk for school shootings.”
The September 4th shooting at Apalachee High School is a heartbreaking reminder of the ongoing crisis of gun violence in America. As the community of Winder mourns it losses, it also stands at a crossroads, facing the urgent need for change. Only through the collective action and open dialogue can we hope to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
