A tragic shooting occurred at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of two teachers and two students, marking it as the deadliest school violence incident in the state’s history. Additionally, at least nine others were injured during the attack.
The deceased students have been identified as 14-year-olds Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. The teachers who lost their lives were Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, according to authorities, although the spellings of their names have yet to be confirmed.
During a press conference, law enforcement officials stated that those injured and taken to the hospital are expected to recover fully. Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, referred to the deceased as heroes, as well as those currently in the hospital recovering.
Mason Schermerhorn was remembered by family friends as a joyful teenager who loved spending time with family, reading, joking, playing video games, and visiting Walt Disney World. He had just begun his journey at the school. Doug Kilburn, a long-time friend of Schermerhorn’s mother, noted that Mason had an optimistic outlook on life.
Louis Briscoe, a co-worker of Mason’s mother, recounted how the family had been anticipating a vacation to Disney World. Upon hearing about the shooting, he reached out to Schermerhorn’s mother only to learn the devastating news of Mason’s death. “My heart just dropped,” he said, expressing the immense pain that comes with such a loss.
Authorities have identified the gunman as a 14-year-old student at the school, who will face murder charges. Students barricaded themselves in classrooms as gunfire erupted.
The shooting has sent shockwaves through Winder, a community of approximately 18,000 residents located about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
At Apalachee High School, Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall served as math teachers, and Aspinwall was also the defensive coordinator for the football team. Math special education teacher and golf coach David Phenix was injured during the incident; his daughter reported on Facebook that he sustained gunshot wounds to his foot and hip, with his hip bone shattered. She shared that he arrived at the hospital alert and underwent surgery earlier in the day.