GA-Winder-Massive police presence at Apalachee High School.

[Chimera]

What We Know About the Apalachee High School Shooting Victims

Two students and two teachers were shot dead at the high school in Winder, Ga. At least nine others were injured.

www.nytimes.com

The authorities identified the dead students as two 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. The educators killed were identified as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, officials said.
Mason Schermerhorn was described by friends of his family as a lighthearted teenager who liked spending time with his family, reading, telling jokes, playing video games and visiting Walt Disney World. He had recently started at the school.

“He really enjoyed life,” said Doug Kilburn, 40, a friend who has known Schermerhorn’s mother for a decade. “He always had an upbeat attitude about everything.”

Rest in gentle peace, Mason, Christian, Richard, and Christina !
My utmost condolences to their loved ones.

It's nice to read a bit more about the victims.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/04/us/winder-ga-shooting-apalachee-high-school/index.html

Some pics of the victims at the CNN link.

Also from above link :

The online threats included photographs of guns, the statement said.
“The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have
unsupervised access to them,” the statement said. “The subject denied making the threats online.”
The FBI said there was no probable cause for an arrest at the time.
Rbm.

Maybe not, however a thorough search of the teen's electronics ?
Or something ?
It's infuriating that this may have been a missed opportunity.
It was obviously not enough to restrict access to the weapons.
Imo.
Omo.

 

[Arkay]

Security is only as good as each classroom. It worked for the classroom he left, but the class nextdoor had its door open. All it takes is one student or adult not following the protocols, and a shooter gets access. It's understandable, we are human. In the school I work at, there are pieces of thick rubber that hook across the door latch, onto the door handles. So a door can be left locked, but everyone can go in and out unless in lockdown. Serious flaws with this, especially with the lens of today. I tend to leave the rubber things off, and other people come in or out of my room and put them back on (especially students).

My school had a mandate that when the code word “red” came over the loudspeaker, we went into lockdown. In order to avoid panicking the kids, the code was couched as in “Mrs. So-and-so, please bring the red folder to room 118” which revealed the location of the problem as well (if possible).

The most trying moment was immediately after an announcement like that, BEFORE we lock our doors, we must first open the door and scan the hall for any student walking about. Someone coming from the bathroom, for instance, and then pull that child into our classroom. THEN we lock the door, close the lights and retreat as far as possible from the door, in silence.

Every teacher is aware that those few seconds of scanning the hallway, while necessary, may also put us and our students in danger if the shooter is in the vicinity.

We also had a narrow window in our classroom doors. I suppose if someone wanted to badly enough, they could break the glass and probably reach the lock.

IMO a metal detector would in fact save lives. My school did not have them, but my granddaughter’s high school did. The kids hated it because it took a long time to get indoors, horrible in the winter, but I was always grateful for it.

JME

 

[kaen]

I have so many feelings about this. My school has just started this week. Here we are again. More lives lost. A troubled young man whose family and the system knew that he was at risk. Yet, he still had access to guns. Everyone has a right to feel safe. Now tomorrow, I will go to work again wondering if the place is safe. Ughhhhhhhh, it is just so senseless and exhausting. RIP to all of these victims. Their school, families and friends are in my thoughts.

 

[kaen]

My school had a mandate that when the code word “red” came over the loudspeaker, we went into lockdown. In order to avoid panicking the kids, the code was couched as in “Mrs. So-and-so, please bring the red folder to room 118” which revealed the location of the problem as well (if possible).

The most trying moment was immediately after an announcement like that, BEFORE we lock our doors, we must first open the door and scan the hall for any student walking about. Someone coming from the bathroom, for instance, and then pull them into our classroom. THEN we lock the door, close the lights and retreat as far as possible from the door, in silence.

Every teacher is aware that those few seconds of scanning the hallway, while necessary, may also put us and our students in danger if the shooter is in the vicinity.

We also had a narrow window in our classroom doors. I suppose if someone wanted to enough, they could break the glass and probably reach the lock.

IMO a metal detector would in fact save lives. My school did not have them, but my granddaughter’s high school did. The kids hated it because it took a long time to get indoors, horrible in the winter, but I was always grateful for it.

JME

One of my previous schools was a metal detector security school. Initially, I did not like it but it grew on me because of the safety aspects. IMHO better to do that than to require no backpacks or clear ones and still have things slip by. The best prevention would be better mental health and kids not having any access to weapons. (I can dream!)

 

[realanastasia]

Just reading through the latest updates:

All injured victims are expected to survive.
Suspect used a semi automatic rifle.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/apalachee-high-school-shooting-georgia-09-04-24/index.html

Not well-versed in firearms classification, so forgive this (possibly dumb) question: are semi-automatic rifles typically used in hunting (for game)?

 

[Arkay]

The best prevention would be better mental health and kids not having any access to weapons. (I can dream!)

I dream along with you, @kaen.

I wish for all still teaching, all school support staff, and for all parents, grandparents and guardians, that your children have a terrific and safe school year ahead.

In my school, where I spent my entire 25 years, it was all hands on deck one day a year—Halloween.

All the school safety officers and all non-teaching staff would man the entrance, in order to go through book bags and pockets to be certain the kids weren’t smuggling in eggs, whipped cream and other potential prank items.

Yet never was there a search on that level for any other day of the school year.

 

[wendybtn]

This FBI issue sounds like a "20/20 hindsight" kind of thing.

They probably do this every day, and 99.9% of them are false alarms.

But they have psychologists, profilers, etc. Is no one trained enough to spot the ones who are likely offenders? I have been very disappointed in the FBI lately.

 

[MassGuy]

Not well-versed in firearms classification, so forgive this (possibly dumb) question: are semi-automatic rifles typically used in hunting (for game)?

It can be, but it’s not typical. When the dad said “hunting rifles,” none of those officers would think of an AR-15. So that sounds like a deliberate effort to mislead.

 

[Kaley Smith]

I'd guess it may be short for "Colton" which is an incredibly common name in the US. It's possible, but I don't think it would be unusual enough to be a huge problem, though of course bullies always find a way.

I agree. Colt is common, and I don't think it's a funny name that would get him bullied.

 

[ErinC]

Not well-versed in firearms classification, so forgive this (possibly dumb) question: are semi-automatic rifles typically used in hunting (for game)?

Sometimes. I know they use them for wild hogs sometimes. General varmints, coyotes. More likely, as was said above, the phrasing was chosen specifically to mislead; while you CAN, I can't say I know anyone who DOES use them for varmint hunting. My dad just uses his trusty old Browning .30-06 since we don't have hogs this far north.

 

[LunaInvidia]

where are their phones? in their lockers?

I can't speak for this or every school, but the kids I know don't have lockers at all.

 

[Sillybilly]

Hey everyone,

We understand how concerned many members are about gun violence in general, but this thread is dedicated solely to discussion of this specific case, these victims, and the accused in this particular case.

If you wish to discuss gun violence and/or gun control in general, please visit the thread that WS has set up for that purpose.

This thread is not for general discussion, and the linked thread is not for discussion of specific cases. Make sense?

Thank you.

 

[georgiajean]

I can't speak for this or every school, but the kids I know don't have lockers at all.

In my school, each teacher has a place for students to store phones. One teacher uses an old calculator storage hanger with pockets that velcro closed. One teacher just requries students to keep phones in backpacks or in desks. If they go to the bathroom, they have to put their phone down on a table when they take the only hall pass. Students must put their phone on their desk before they go out to recess or lunch. They may check their phone before going to recess or lunch. I have so few students who have phones, I have a labeled ziplock bag for each student, and keep the bags in my desk.

This all started because some students were taking video clips of other students eating, then posting them for ridicule. Students weren't eating lunch and were begging to stay in the class to eat.

 

[mickey2942]

I was always the "unpopular" one at the table when discussing students. If they had identified behavioral problems, I would throw it right out there, "Does so and so have access to guns?". Parents usually were shocked, and of course they all stated, "no, of course not.".

But at least I had brought up the subject. I think too many administrators, counselors and teachers are hesitant to bring this up with parents. It should be addressed anytime a student is identified as having behavioral issues, if there is a meeting with parents.

 

[LAhiker]

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the other student with the similar name, who was not involved, is named Kolten Gray. So the other student's name sounds similar but is spelled differently.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1831472837468840031

JMO