
A tragic shooting unfolded at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on the morning of September 4th, 2024.
At approximately 10:23 a.m., deputies and emergency medical personnel responded to reports of an active shooter on campus.

The incident resulted in the deaths of two students and two teachers, with nine others—eight students and one teacher—sustaining injuries and being hospitalized. All injured individuals are expected to survive.
The suspect, a 14-year-old student at the school, was quickly apprehended by a campus police officer. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith stated, "Our school resource officer engaged him and the shooter quickly realized that if he did not give up, that it would end with an OIS—an officer involved shooting." The suspect surrendered immediately and was taken into custody without further incident.

Investigators are still working to determine whether the attack was targeted or random. Sheriff Smith mentioned, "We don't know of any targets at this point. We have not identified that at this point." There were no clear connections between the suspect and the victims.
The weapon used in the shooting was identified as an AR-platform rifle. This incident marks the 45th school shooting in the United States for the year 2024 and is noted as the deadliest so far.
The school district has announced that all schools will be closed for the remainder of the week as the community grapples with the aftermath of this tragedy.
In a press conference, Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, confirmed that the suspect had been investigated in 2023 over online threats about a school shooting but there was no probable cause for arrest at that time. The investigation now includes how the suspect managed to bring the weapon into the school.
Georgia’s U.S. senators and other officials have expressed their condolences and called for action to prevent such tragedies in the future. President Joe Biden also commented, stating, "We cannot continue to accept this as normal."
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