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 gunman, named by police 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
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.
Elon Musk has stepped up his attacks on Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill – weeks after a spectacular fallout between the world’s richest man and the US president.
Following weeks of relative silence after clashing with Mr Trump over his “big beautiful bill”, the billionaire vowed to unseat politicians who support it.
In a post on X, Musk said those who had campaigned on cutting spending but then backed the bill “should hang their heads in shame”.
He added: “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”
Musk also threatened to put their faces on a poster which said “liar” and “voted to increase America’s debt” by $5trn (£3.6trn).
The posts attracted a swift reply from Mr Trump, who claimed the billionaire “may get more subsidy than any human being in history” for his electric car business.
“Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
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Musk spent at least $250m (£182m) supporting Mr Trump in his presidential campaign and then led the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which sacked about 120,000 federal employees.
He has argued the legislation would greatly increase the US national debt and wipe out the savings he claimed he achieved through DOGE.
As the Senate discussed the package, Musk called it “utterly insane and destructive”.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said the bill’s massive spending indicated “we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!”
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,” he wrote.
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Musk previously said some of his social media posts during his dramatic fallout with Mr Trump “went too far”.
He had shared a series of posts on X, including one that described Mr Trump’s tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination”.
He also claimed, in a since-deleted post, that the president appeared in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
But Musk later wrote: “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”
In response, the president told the New York Post: “I thought it was very nice that he did that.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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