14-year-old shooter kills four at US high school

A 14-year-old boy killed four people, two students from his age and two teachers, and injured nine others, by opening fire Wednesday in his high school in Georgia, in the southeastern United States, announced the police.

The alleged shooter, a 14-year-old student, was the subject of a report by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2023, for having threatened to commit a shooting at a school, supported by photographs of weapons, the FBI said.

The police intervened at Apalachee High School in Winder, about 70 kilometers northeast of Atlanta, the state capital, after emergency calls were received Wednesday morning.

The teenager was arrested by a police officer assigned to security at the school, local Sheriff Jud Smith told reporters, later specifying that the nine injured would recover.

“The shooter quickly realized that if he did not surrender,” The officer was going to open fire, the sheriff said. “He backed off, got on the ground, and the officer arrested him.”

He was taken into custody and will be tried as an adult for murder, the FBI said.

– Vigil –

This tragedy is part of a macabre series in the United States, long hit by school and university shootings, and where a third of adults own a gun.

After this new shooting, people gathered for a vigil on a sports field outside the high school, some forming a circle holding hands.

After the FBI report, the suspect was investigated, but denied making the threats, while his father said the teenager did not have access to the weapons in the home.

Local schools had also been notified so that the suspect would be subject to increased surveillance.

The shooter used an “AR-style” rifle and authorities are investigating how he got the weapon into the school, Georgia FBI Director Chris Hosey said.

Law enforcement officers outside Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024, after a shooting was reported © AFP – CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA

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Some students initially thought it was another shooting drill, one told AFP, referring to exercises regularly held in American schools.

“My teacher put us all in a little corner and everyone hugged each other, some of my friends were crying. Until two armed police officers came in and told us it wasn't a drill and we weren't safe yet,” Alexsandra Romeo said.

Another student, Stephanie Folgar, 17, said she heard “loud bangs” and panicked students hiding in bathrooms and closets. “It's scary to know that it could have been you,” she said.

In the morning, the school management sent a message to parents indicating that they were implementing a “strict lockdown following gunshots.”

Once the school was secured, parents were able to go to the school to find their children and long lines of vehicles were visible outside.

– “Epidemic of violence” –

US President Joe Biden was outraged by this new tragedy, stating in a statement that the United States could not “accept that this becomes the norm.” The Democrat has been trying for years, without success, to further regulate access to firearms.

A mother and her children during a vigil in tribute to the four victims of the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, Georgia (United States) on September 4, 2024 © AFP – CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA

“We must end this epidemic of gun violence in our country, once and for all,” said Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris during from a campaign speech.

His opponent, Republican Donald Trump, denounced the actions of the shooter, calling him a “sick and deranged monster”.

The state of Georgia, where the shooting took place, is one of the key states that could decide the election in November.

At least 11,557 people have been killed this year alone in the United States in 384 mass shootings (resulting in at least four victims, dead or injured), according to figures from the American NGO Gun Violence Archive.

In May 2022, 19 children and two teachers were victims of a horrific massacre in their school in Uvalde, Texas, committed by an 18-year-old man with a legally purchased assault rifle.

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