Who were the victims in the Apalachee High School shooting?
THE Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia on September 4 left four people dead and nine injured.
Here’s what we know so far about the victims.
Who were the victims in the Apalachee High School shooting?
Police quickly identified two students and two teachers as the four dead – Mason Schermerhorn, 14, Christian Angulo, 14, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53.
Family members of Mason, a boy with autism, released a panicked message when he had not appeared following the shooting.
It read: “If he is escalated, PLEASE use a calm voice with him.”
“Let him know his mom is looking for him for reassurance.”
Mason’s mum later revealed he had been killed.
Shortly after, one of Mason’s loved ones wrote on social media that they were “sad we can’t even send our babies to school and them be safe.”
Another wrote: “Beautiful Mason, we are so sorry!” another person wrote. “(America) failed you…Hug your children!”
Friends told the New York Times Mason was a humorous child who enjoyed playing video games and trips to Walt Disney World.
Family friend Doug Kilburn added that “he really enjoyed life” and “always had an upbeat attitude about everything.”
Christian Angulo, 14, was the second student left dead in the shooting.
On a GoFundMe page set up for Christian’s funeral services, his older sister, Lisetta Angulo, wrote: “He was a very good kid and very sweet and so caring.
“He was so loved by many. His loss was so sudden and unexpected.. We are truly heartbroken.. He really didn’t deserve this.”
Abner Sanz, who’d been friends with Christian since middle school, described her disbelief after hearing the teen was dead.
She said: “I started asking other people if it was true that he had passed away because I just wanted to know.
“I was in denial because you would never believe somebody that you knew would pass away just like that.”
Richard Aspinwall, 39, also died, a math teacher and assistant coach for the school’s football team.
Richard, known as “Ricky”, was reportedly trying to escort students from the hallway to safety when he was killed in the doorway of a classroom.
He was hired at Apalachee in 2023, after previously working as a football coach at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, according to Sports Illustrated.
In 2022, the passionate educator was awarded the Touchdown Club of Gwinnett’s Tally Johnson Award as Assistant Coach of the Year.
Tributes flooded social media after the news of his death, with one former student writing: “Love you, coach.”
Another posted: “My heart is broken. I knew Coach Aspinwall when I was in high school at Mountain View.
“It’s no shock he died protecting the students at Apalachee. Praying so hard for his family and everyone who knew him.”
A fundraising page has reportedly been set up by Richard’s family.
Christina Irimie, 53, was the second teacher to lose her life.
Little is known about Christina at this time, except that she was also a math teacher.
Who is suspected shooter Colt Gray?
Colt Gray, another 14-year-old student at the school, is the suspected shooter.
He was described by classmate Lyela Sayarath, who sat next to him on the day of the shooting, as “quiet”.
Sayarath said she noticed no indication that the shooting would take place.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey revealed that an AR-15 rifle was used in the horror attack.
The FBI had interviewed Gray and his father in May 2023 about “several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.”
These online threats contained photographs of guns, according to a joint statement from the FBI Atlanta and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
After hunting guns were revealed at the family’s home, Gray’s dad claimed his son “did not have unsupervised access to them.”
Police decided there was no “probable cause for arrest” but reportedly “continued monitoring” the teen.