A 14-year-old student opened fire at his Georgia high school on Wednesday, killing four, before surrendering to school resource officers, according to the authorities. The teenage suspect, Colt Gray, surrendered immediately and will be charged as an adult, law enforcement officials said.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said at a news conference that two of the victims who were killed were students and two were teachers. Nine more were hospitalized with injuries.
The incident occurred just a month into the new school year. Students reported that a lockdown, initially thought to be a drill, turned out to be a real emergency. They described hearing gunfire, barricading themselves in classrooms, and later evacuating to the football field to meet their worried parents.
Investigators were not sure how Gray brought the weapon on campus and how he obtained it. They are still trying to determine if anyone was specially targeted, but they were not aware of any known connections between Gray and the victims.
The Barrow County School System will close all its schools for the remainder of the week according to the county’s superintendent.
Federal authorities revealed that the suspect was investigated last year for threatening to carry out a school shooting, including posting photos of guns.
