Current:Home > NewsA timeline of events on day of Georgia school shooting -Wealth Evolution Experts
A timeline of events on day of Georgia school shooting
View
Date:2025-04-18 00:53:28
ATLANTA (AP) — Many questions in last week’s Georgia school shooting are still unanswered, including how the suspect brought a semiautomatic assault rifle to the campus of Apalachee High School and what may have motivated the violence.
The shooting Wednesday in Winder, northeast of Atlanta, killed two teachers and two students. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, with seven of those hit by gunfire.
Colt Gray, 14, is charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and District Attorney Brad Smith has said more charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with the wounded. Authorities have also charged his father, Colin Gray, alleging that he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known that the teen was a danger to himself and others.
In the meantime, relatives are mourning the victims, including teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14.
The 13,000 students at Barrow County’s other schools are supposed to return to class Tuesday. Officials have not announced a restart date for the 1,900 students who attend Apalachee.
Superintendent Dallas LeDuff, in a video message Sunday, said sheriff’s deputies and state troopers will provide extra security when schools reopen Tuesday, with extra counseling available at all campuses.
Here’s a timeline of what happened on the day of the attack, based on statements by authorities and reporting by The Associated Press and other news media:
8:15 a.m. — First period begins. Officials have not said what class Colt Gray was scheduled for, or if he attended. It’s also unclear how Gray got to school that morning or if he was carrying the rifle with him.
9:38 a.m. — First period ends. Students have seven minutes to change to their next class.
9:45 a.m. — Second period begins. Student Lyela Sayarath said she briefly saw Gray in the algebra class where the two sat next to each other. But Gray left the room. Sayarath said she assumed Gray was skipping class, but it’s not clear where he may have gone.
9:50 a.m. — Marcee Gray, Colt’s mother, calls the high school from 200 miles away in Fitzgerald, Georgia, to warn that her son is having an “extreme emergency,” according to call logs, texts and an interview by Gray’s aunt, Annie Brown, with The Washington Post. Brown later confirmed the account to the AP but declined to comment further.
Brown said the mother texted her saying she spoke with a school counselor and urged them to “immediately” find her son to check on him. Call logs show the call lasted until 10 a.m. Relatives of Marcee Gray have told multiple media outlets that she received a text from her son that morning saying he was sorry, without saying what he was apologizing for.
9:45 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. — An administrator comes to the algebra classroom looking for a student with the same last name and a similar first name to Colt Gray, Sayarath said. The other student is in the bathroom, she said, but the administrator takes the other student’s bag. When the other student returns, he tells Sayarath that the administrator was actually seeking Colt Gray. In the meantime, the teacher is called on the intercom, Sayarath said.
About 10:20 a.m. — Colt Gray approaches the door of the algebra classroom. As the intercom buzzes again, the teacher responds, “Oh, he’s here,” seeing Gray outside the classroom door, Sayarath said. When students go to open the door, which automatically locks from the inside when closed, Sayarath said they backed away. She said she saw Colt Gray turn away through the window of the door and then she said she heard 10 or 15 consecutive gunshots. People are shot in the hallway and inside at least one classroom, as others in the halls scramble for safety. According to some students, the three teachers are shot while trying to shield students.
10:23 a.m. — After multiple employees press wireless panic buttons embedded in their employee badges, the school goes into lockdown and a massive law enforcement response begins. Students in other classrooms who hear the gunshots begin texting and calling their parents and others.
10:26 a.m. — The two school resource officers assigned to Apalachee High School approach Gray in the hall, according to GBI Director Chris Hosey. Gray immediately surrenders and is taken into custody.
About 11 a.m. — Law enforcement officers begin searching Colin and Colt Gray’s house east of Winder. At the school, officers go from classroom to classroom, first looking for more people with injuries or other shooters. Later, officers evacuate students to the football field as hundreds of parents rush to campus.
About 1 p.m. — The school begins releasing students to parents to take them home.
veryGood! (75555)
Related
- Police remove gator from pool in North Carolina town: Watch video of 'arrest'
- Court upholds California’s authority to set nation-leading vehicle emission rules
- Jessica Alba steps down from The Honest Company after 12 years to pursue 'new projects'
- Atlanta family raises money, seeks justice after innocent bystander dies in police pursuit
- Mega Millions winning numbers for August 6 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $398 million
- Former high-ranking Democratic legislator in New Mexico pleads not guilty in federal fraud case
- Travel With the Best Luggage in 2024, Plus On-Sale Luggage Options
- Calvin Harris' wife Vick Hope admits she listens to his ex Taylor Swift when he's gone
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- A new version of Scrabble aims to make the word-building game more accessible
Ranking
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Key question before US reveals latest consumer prices: Is inflation cooling enough for the Fed?
- Indiana Fever picks first in star-studded WNBA draft with Caitlin Clark. See full draft order
- Third channel to open at Baltimore port as recovery from bridge collapse continues
- A New York Appellate Court Rejects a Broad Application of the State’s Green Amendment
- Ohio’s DeWine focuses on children in his State of the State address
- Americans think they pay too much in taxes. Here's who pays the most and least to the IRS.
- Stock market today: Asian markets are mixed, Shanghai falls as Fitch lowers China’s rating outlook
Recommendation
Kansas City Chiefs CEO's Daughter Ava Hunt Hospitalized After Falling Down a Mountain
Indiana Fever picks first in star-studded WNBA draft with Caitlin Clark. See full draft order
Biden could miss the deadline for the November ballot in Alabama, the state’s election chief says
Sophia Bush Says She’s “Happier Than Ever” After Personal Journey
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
How you can clean a coffee maker and still keep your coffee's flavor
'We just went nuts': Michael Keaton shows new 'Beetlejuice' footage, is psyched for sequel
California student, an outdoor enthusiast, dies in accident on trip to Big Sur