A shooting at the Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Wednesday left four people dead and nearly a dozen others injured.
The sheriff’s office said police were called to respond to an active shooter at approximately 10:23 in the morning just days after students returned to classes. The school was put on lockdown and students were later being dismissed.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigations confirmed that at least four in total—2 students and 2 teachers— are dead and nine more were transported to the hospital for injuries.
The bureau also said the suspect is alive and in custody.
President Joe Biden released a statement after the shooting calling again for Congress to act and pass further gun control measures.
“We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers,” Biden wrote. “These measures will not bring those who were tragically killed today back, but it will help prevent more tragic gun violence from ripping more families apart.”
Meanwhile, at a rally in New Hampshire Vice President Kamala Harris called the shooting that killed four people at a Georgia high school a “senseless tragedy.”
Speaking at a rally in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also called for action to curb gun violence.
“It’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive,” Harris said.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said he is “heartbroken.”
“This is a day every parent dreads, and Georgians everywhere will hug their children tighter this evening because of this painful event,” he said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with local, state, and federal partners to make any and all resources available to help this community on this incredibly difficult day and in the days to come.”
The shooter has been identified as Colt Gray, 14, a student at the high school and is in custody, Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said at a news conference Wednesday.
He will be charged with murder and will be tried as an adult, Hosey said.
