Two students and two teachers killed in school shooting in Georgia – as 14-year-old suspect held
A 14-year-old suspect is in custody after a school shooting in the US state of Georgia, in which two students and two teachers were killed.
The shooting took place at Apalachee High School, situated in Winder in Barrow County – around 50 miles from the city of Atlanta.
The suspect is a 14-year-old student at the school, Chris Hosey, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. He said the suspect would be tried as an adult.
Officers said they heard about the incident just before 9.30am local time, and responders from “multiple law enforcement agencies” were sent to the high school “in reference to a reported active shooting”.
The school was placed on lockdown, but this has now been cleared and pupils released to their families.
Dozens of police swarmed the campus and students rushed for shelter in the football stadium.
Local TV stations showed images of parents lining up in cars on a road outside the school, hoping to be reunited with their children.
Pic: WSB via AP
Camille Nelms said she was shedding tears when a gunman opened fire on her classroom.
As bullets came flying into her classroom, the teacher and students tried to take shelter in the corner.
“I was crying, I didn’t want to die that way,” Nelms told NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta. “I don’t want to meet the Lord that way.”
Student Jacob King said he had dozed off in his world history class after morning football practice when he heard about 10 gunshots.
He said he did not believe the shooting was real until he heard an officer yelling at someone to put down their gun. He said when his class was led out, he saw officers shielding what appeared to be an injured student.
First responders gather at Apalachee High School. Pic: ABC Affiliate WSB via Reuters
Ashley Enoh was at home on Wednesday morning when she got a text from her brother, who is a senior at Apalachee High.
The message said: “Just so you know, I love you.”
When she asked in the family group chat what was going on, he said there was a gunman at the school.
The shooting sparked a stampede, according to local media reports.
The Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith initially told reporters: “Multiple people were wounded in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder”.
Students and staff gather next to the football field after the shooting. Pic: ABC Affiliate WSB via REUTERS
He described the investigation as “very, very fluid” and it was in the early stages.
“What you see behind us is an evil thing today,” Sheriff Smith said.
“I want to give our sympathies to our community, our school system, our kids, our parents that had to witness this today.”
US President Joe Biden, who has been briefed on the incident, said in a statement he and his wife, Jill “are mourning the deaths” and said: “What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart.
“Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”
Mr Biden urged Republicans to work with Democrats to pass “common-sense gun safety legislation.”
As the incident unfolded, Governor Brian Kemp said: “I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state.”
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Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and ATF, are on the scene.
The shooting was the first “planned attack” of the new school year in the US, David Reidman, who runs the K-12 School Shooting Database, said.
Apalachee High School, which had an enrollment of nearly 1,900 last year, began classes on 1 August.
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
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The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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