Apalachee school shooting: Students back in class full-time on Monday

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — Nearly six weeks after a deadly shooting inside Apalachee High School claimed four lives and injured nine others, students are returning to class full-time on Monday.

On Sept. 24, students returned to the school for the first time since the shooting. Since then, they’ve been easing students back in by having half-days and dismissing at lunchtime. The Barrow County School District was on Fall Break last week.

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Social studies classes were moved to Chee East, a nearby Barrow County School System building, while a portion of the main school building remains closed off. Students will be bussed to and from the location for their classes until classroom pods arrive in January.

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Wednesday will mark six weeks since the Georgia Bureau of Investigation says 14-year-old Colt Gray walked into Apalachee High School and opened fire, killing two teachers and two fellow students. Nine others were wounded and sent to the hospital.

Math teachers Ricky Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie and 14-year-old students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn lost their lives in the Sept. 4 shooting.

Colt Gray is charged with four counts of felony murder for each of their deaths.

The alleged school shooter’s father, Colin Gray, was also arrested the day of shooting. He is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children.

The GBI says that Colt Gray was investigated, but not arrested in May 2023 for threats against a school in nearby Jackson County, where he and his father lived at the time.

They also say that the assault-style rifle used in the attack was gifted to Colt Gray by his father for Christmas, just a few months after being investigated for making threats.

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Apalachee High School students return for first day of classes after mass shooting

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