High school shooting in U.S. Georgia leaves 4 dead, 9 injured

Four people were killed and nine wounded in a campus shooting at a high school in the U.S. state of Georgia on Wednesday, reported Xinhua, quoting local authorities.

The four deceased are two students and two teachers at the Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia, about 70 km north of Atlanta, Georgia's biggest city.

The shooter has been identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at the high school, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Chris Hosey told a briefing Wednesday afternoon.

Gray opened fire at the high school shortly before 10:30 a.m. He surrendered to police as soon as he was confronted by a school resource officer, Hosey said.

Multiple law enforcement agencies and emergency responders were dispatched to the school following the shooting.

The shooter will be charged with murder and will be tried as an adult, Hosey said.

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said he is not aware of any connection between the suspected shooter and the victims.

Hosey said part of the investigation is looking into every aspect of the shooter, his connection at the school.

Another nine people injured in the shooting have been taken to hospitals, Hosey said. In addition to the patients with gunshot wounds, five people were hospitalized with panic attack symptoms, a hospital spokesperson said.

The school was put on a hard lockdown after the shooting took place. Schools in Barrow County will be closed for the rest of the week, according to Dallas LeDuff, the county's superintendent.

The deadly school shooting has prompted officials to step up patrols around campuses in Atlanta.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he is mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to "senseless gun violence."

"What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart," he said.

The president called on lawmakers to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers.

Over 380 mass shootings have occurred in the United States in 2024 so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more victims are shot or killed.