US school shooting suspect was previously investigated by police over threats of similar attack – as victims named
A US school shooting suspect had been previously investigated by police over threats to carry out a similar attack last year.
A 14-year-old boy, has been arrested after allegedly shooting dead two students and two teachers at a high school in Georgia.
The suspect, named by police as Colt Gray, was a student at Apalachee High School, in Barrow County, where the attack took place, leading to the school being placed on lockdown and officers swarming the location before he gave himself up.
The four victims who died have been named as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspenwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.
Christina Irimie taught maths Pic: Apalachee High Scool
Richard Aspinwall Pic: Apalachee High School
Christian Angulo Pic: Gofundme/Lisette Angulo
Christian was described as “a very good kid and very sweet and so caring” by his older sister Lisette Angulo.
“He was so loved by many. His loss was so sudden and unexpected.. We are truly heartbroken.. He really didn’t deserve this,” she added.
Suspect previously interviewed
In May last year, the FBI received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting, Chris Hosey, director at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office located a possible suspect, he said – the then 13-year-old Gray.
They interviewed Gray and his father, who stated he had hunting guns but that his son didn’t have unsupervised access to them.
Gray himself denied making the threats online and at the time there was no probable cause for arrest and no further action was taken, Mr Hosey said.
Now, authorities are re-investigating the incident and any possible connection it may have to the most recent shooting.
Brandy Rickaba and her daughter Emilie during a candlelight vigil for the victims of the school shooting. Pic: AP
Police outside the school after the attack. Pic: AP
“We are also aware of some previous contacts that the Department of Family and Children Services had had with the suspect and his family, and we are pursuing that avenue as well,” Mr Hosey added.
Nine people, eight students and one teacher, were taken to hospital with injuries from the attack, but it was said that they are all expected to make a recovery.
Gray is being charged as an adult and the attack was carried out using an AR-style weapon – a gun often associated with school shootings.
While police are still chasing down a number of leads, and carrying out their investigations, they said that the actions of teachers saved a number of lives.
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Grandmother of student on Georgia shooting
Authorities were alerted to the attack due to a new alarm system that had only been implemented a week earlier.
Sheriff Jud Smith said: “All of our teachers are armed with a form of ID, this alarms us and alerts law enforcement officers after buttons are pressed on the ID.
“It alerts us there is an active situation at the school. We’ve had that about a week now.”
‘Just so you know, I love you’
The words “hard lockdown” appeared on a screen in Layla Ferrell’s health class as lights began flashing.
She and her terrified classmates piled desks and chairs in front of the door to create a barrier, she said.
Meanwhile, Kaylee Abner was in her geometry class when she heard gunshots.
Along with her classmates she hid behind their teacher’s desk, before they began flipping the desk to try and barricade the classroom door, she said.
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Ashley Enoh was at home on Wednesday morning when she got a text from her brother, who is a senior at the school.
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.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
The Israeli Air Force is regarded as one of the country’s most elite units.
So, when hundreds of current and former pilots call for an end to the war in Gaza to get the hostages out, Israelis take notice.
This month, 1,200 pilots caused a storm by signing an open letter arguing the war served mainly “political and personal interests and not security ones”.
The pilots’ protest letter
Part of the letter translated
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the original letter was written by “bad apples”.
But Guy Paron, a former pilot and one of those behind the letter, said the Israeli government had failed to move to phase two of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, brokered under US President Donald Trump.
That deal called for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of all the remaining hostages. Mr Netanyahu continues to argue that the war must continue to put pressure on Hamas.
Mr Paron said the (Israeli) government “gave up or violated a signed agreement with Hamas” and “threw it to the trash”.
“You have to finish the deal, release the hostages, even if it means stopping that war,” he argued.
It’s not the first time Israeli pilots have taken up a cause. Many of them also campaigned against Mr Netanyahu’s 2023 judicial reforms.
“In this country, 1,000 Israeli Air Force pilots carry a lot of weight,” Mr Paron added.
“The Air Force historically has been the major force and game-changer in all of Israel’s wars, including this current one. The strength of the Air Force is the public’s guarantee of security.”
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Anti-government campaign spreads
Now, the open letter campaign has spread to other parts of the military.
More than 15,000 people have signed, including paratroopers, armoured corps, navy, special units, cyber and medics. The list goes on.
Dr Ofer Havakuk has served 200 days during this war as a combat doctor, mostly in Gaza, and believes the government is continuing the war to stay in power.
He has also signed an open letter supporting the pilots and accused the prime minister of putting politics first.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the authors of the original letter as ‘bad apples’. Pic: AP
He said Mr Netanyahu “wants to keep his coalition working and to keep the coalition together. For him, this is the main purpose of the war”.
A ceasefire could lead to the collapse of the prime minister’s fragile far-right coalition, which is opposed to ending the war.
Threat of dismissal
The Israeli military has threatened to dismiss those who have signed protest letters.
We met a former pilot who is still an active reservist. He didn’t want to be identified and is worried he could lose his job.
“This is a price that I’m willing to pay, although it is very big for me because I’m volunteering and, as a volunteer, I want to stay on duty for as long as I can,” he told us.
The controversy over the war and the hostages is gaining momentum inside Israel’s military.
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It is also exposing deep divisions in society at a time when there is no clear sign about how the government plans to end the war in Gaza, or when.
The renewed war in Gaza over the last year and a half followed deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw around 250 taken hostage.
More than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the Israeli military’s response, many of them civilians, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
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